I read a summary of an interview with Cohen where apparently he did step out of Borat character and, as far as I can tell, spoke as himself. He addressed the charges of anti-Semitism directed at him. He talked about a scene in the movie where he sang a viciously anti-Semitic song in a bar (I think that’s how it went). Cohen claimed that he’s trying to show the bigotry that exists when people do nothing. The Holocaust happened because, Cohen tells us, people remained silent.

Well, OK. But please, cut the crap. It’s entirely possible that he sang an absurdly obnoxious song and no one did anything. I expect he would have received a much different reaction if he’d dressed up in a Nazi uniform and handed out Nazi literature. To dupe people into believing you’re a foreigner and behave obnoxiously is funny, no doubt. But to claim that it’s all for the lofty purpose of exposing bigotry is just a wee bit self-righteous. It strikes me as an after-the-fact rationalization. No need to explain, Cohen. Let the movie speak for itself.