Borat was inescapable following its release in 2006, beloved by critics and audiences alike. With humble origins as a Da Ali G Show spinoff, Borat was an unexpected sensation, earning $262 million against a modest $18 million budget and worming its way deep into the American subconscious. Unfortunately, the film’s success came at a price, as it cost Kid Rock [deep, sustained, calming breath] his wife.
This is per Sacha Baron Cohen, who told the tale in an interview with The Daily Beast’s The Last Laugh podcast. In the process of revealing that Pamela Anderson was (of course) in on the joke for the scene in which Borat kidnaps her, Cohen also revealed that Kid Rock absolutely hated the movie. Kid Rock, as you probably won’t recall, was briefly married to Pamela Anderson in 2006. Cohen said that, following a screening of the finished film with Anderson and Kid Rock, he called Anderson to find out what her new husband thought of the film.
“Kid Rock saw the movie, and I texted Pamela Anderson and asked, ‘How did it go? What did he think?’” said Cohen. “And she texted back, ‘He’s getting divorced.’”
Cohen said Anderson told him that Kid Rock wanted the divorce specifically because of the movie, which he naturally assumed was a joke, but alas, Kid Rock is a Real American, and Real Americans don’t joke when it comes to leaving their wives over movies.
“I thought it was a joke,” Said Cohen. “But then a few weeks later they got divorced and they put as a reason for divorce: ‘Borat.’ So it had some casualties.”
Cohen’s version of this story also lines up with and seems to confirm contemporary tabloid reports, which claimed that Universal Studio chief Ron Meyer held a screening of the movie at his home and that the American Badass had a freak out and ruined the night because he hated the movie.
This revelation raises a number of questions. Was Kid Rock, like so many people, unable to tell if his wife’s involvement in the film was real? Did he believe that his wife did not fight back strongly enough against the seductive, amorous advances of Borat Sagdiyev? Was he simply unable to endure the ceaseless cacophony of “my wife!” that surrounded the release of the film, knowing that the wife in question was, at least in an abstract sense, his wife? We will probably never fully understand the temperament of such a true artist.
Anyway, maybe just imagine this tweet but it says “Hey, Borat:” and it’s divorce court. Very nice.
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