Sacha Baron Cohen appeared as himself as well as all of his characters – including Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Bruno and Admiral General Aladeen – at the MTV Movie & TV Awards as he accepted the honors for the Comedic Genius gong on Sunday.
Cohen, 49, was introduced by Seth Rogen prior to initially appearing as Borat, saying: ‘Thank you Prince Harry. I’m very excited to be on this brand new music television channel.
‘I’m very happy to be accepting this cup of gold teeth instead of Sacha Baron Cohen and will put it in our national museum along with national treasure we have confiscated.’
Three of a kind: Sacha Baron Cohen appeared as himself as well as all of his characters at the MTV Movie & TV Awards as he accepted the honors for the Comedic Genius gong on Sunday
Ali G then made his way into the picture, arguing the merits of his character collecting the honors: ‘We should be accepting this award not you. I was the original gangster. The OG.’
Eventually, Cohen himself appeared in a suit to clarify that he was the one worthy of receiving the award as the creator of all the characters.
‘Thank you MTV; to the millions of fans out there who voted for me, I salute you,’ he said. ‘This is yours, I’d be nothing without you. I’m so humbled by this. I’m just a human being creating complex nuanced characters.’
Cohen’s Bruno character then emerged onscreen and made his case, to which Cohen eventually said, ‘I am officially canceling myself – I was actually really looking forward to this after losing the Oscar. You can f***ing keep it.’
Funnyman: Cohen first appeared as Borat, who said, ‘Thank you Prince Harry. I’m very excited to be on this brand new music television channel’
Blast from the past: Ali G, clad in a yellow outfit, then made his way into the picture, arguing the merits of his character collecting the honors
In charge: Cohen also reprised his role as Admiral General Aladeen for the acceptance
Past performers to capture the honors include Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart and Melissa McCarthy; according to MTV, the award is set to honor a performer ‘who has made incomparable contributions to the world of comedy, providing a major influence through their work and transforming the genre at-large.’
Cohen had been nominated for three awards at the ceremony – Best Movie, Best Duo (with Maria Bakalova) and Best Performance in a Movie for his performance in The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Cohen had received plaudits in an introduction from Rogen, who said, ‘From the start, his goal was to reveal the truth about the human condition by utilizing brilliant wit and sharp, insightful commentary.’
Rogen said that Cohen ‘went on to reveal so much more’ – including various parts of his anatomy he’s bared in his comic pursuits.
Cohen clutched his golden popcorn trophy as he collected the honors Sunday
High honors: The award is set to honor a performer ‘who has made incomparable contributions to the world of comedy, providing a major influence through their work and transforming the genre at-large,’ MTV said
Kind words: Cohen had received plaudits in an introduction from Rogen, who said, ‘From the start, his goal was to reveal the truth about the human condition by utilizing brilliant wit and sharp, insightful commentary’
‘Sometimes putting himself in physically and legally precarious situations, whether he singing at gun rallies, announcing a mega-mosque to a bunch of right-wing a**holes, or standing well within a horny Rudy Giuliani’s … radius.’
Rogen continued: ‘Uncompromising, unflinching, and ruthlessly effective, these are just some of the words Sasha’s lawyer said they would have for me if I did not mention his new Amazon special, the snappily titled, Borat Supplemental Reportings Retrieved from Floor of Stable Containing Editing Machine.
‘He makes us laugh, he makes us cry, he makes the most annoying one of our friends do a horrible impersonation of him every time someone brings up their wife. You’re all children. This year’s recipient of MTV’s comedic genius award is Sacha Baron Cohen – he’s a comedian.’
MTV Movie & TV Awards: UNSCRIPTED is set to air Monday at 9/8c.
MTV Movie & TV Awards 2021 Part One: WINNERS LIST
SCRIPTED CATEGORIES
BEST MOVIE
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Judas and the Black Messiah
Promising Young Woman
Soul
To All the Boys: Always and Forever — WINNER
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A MOVIE
Carey Mulligan: Promising Young Woman
Chadwick Boseman: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom — WINNER
Daniel Kaluuya: Judas and the Black Messiah
Sacha Baron Cohen: The Trial of the Chicago 7
Zendaya: Malcolm & Marie
BEST KISS
Chase Stokes & Madelyn Cline: Outer Banks — WINNER
Jodie Comer & Sandra Oh: Killing Eve
Lily Collins & Lucas Bravo: Emily in Paris
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan & Jaren Lewison: Never Have I Ever
Regé-Jean Page & Phoebe Dynevor: Bridgerton
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Antonia Gentry: Ginny & Georgia
Ashley Park: Emily in Paris
Maria Bakalova: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Paul Mescal: Normal People
Regé-Jean Page: Bridgerton — WINNER
BEST FIGHT
Final Funhouse Fight: Birds of Prey
Finale House Fight: Cobra Kai
Starlight, Queen Maeve, Kimiko vs. Stormfront: The Boys
Wanda vs. Agatha: WandaVision — WINNER
Final Fight vs. Steppenwolf: Zack Snyder’s Justice League
BEST HERO
Anthony Mackie: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — WINNER
Gal Gadot: Wonder Woman 1984
Jack Quaid: The Boys
Pedro Pascal: The Mandalorian
Teyonah Parris: WandaVision
Heroic win: Anthony Mackie with his trophies
BEST SHOW
Bridgerton
Cobra Kai
Emily in Paris
The Boys
WandaVision — WINNER
Big winners: WandaVision’s Kathryn Hahn and Elizabeth Olsen won double
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SHOW
Anya Taylor-Joy: The Queen’s Gambit
Elizabeth Olsen: WandaVision — WINNER
Elliot Page: The Umbrella Academy
Emma Corrin: The Crown
Michaela Coel: I May Destroy You
BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE
Annie Murphy: Schitt’s Creek
Eric Andre: Bad Trip
Issa Rae: Insecure
Jason Sudeikis: Ted Lasso
Leslie Jones: Coming 2 America — WINNER
BEST VILLAIN
Aya Cash: The Boys
Ewan McGregor: Birds of Prey
Giancarlo Esposito: The Mandalorian
Kathryn Hahn: WandaVision — WINNER
Nicholas Hoult: The Great
MOST FRIGHTENED PERFORMANCE
Elisabeth Moss: The Invisible Man
Jurnee Smollett: Lovecraft Country
Simona Brown: Behind Her Eyes
Victoria Pedretti: The Haunting of Bly Manor — WINNER
Vince Vaughn: Freaky
BEST DUO
Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo: Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar
Anthony Mackie & Sebastian Stan: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — WINNER
Pedro Pascal & Grogu/Baby Yoda: The Mandalorian
Lily Collins & Ashley Park: Emily in Paris
Sacha Baron Cohen & Maria Bakalova: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm