A California gun store owner said on Wednesday he kicked Sacha Baron Cohen out of his shop after the comedian attempted to trick him into thinking he was a Hungarian immigrant looking to buy a gun.
Norris Sweidan, the owner of Warrior One Guns & Ammo, said Cohen came into his Riverside, Calif., store in full costume and with a film crew early last year. As soon as Cohen spoke to Sweidan he recognized the comedian and told him he wasn't welcome in the store.
"He comes in, off the bat you can see in the video I’m looking like, this guy does not look like a Hungarian immigrant, tight ass leather pants, a beard, it just didn’t fit," Sweidan told Fox 11 after sharing security footage of the encounter with them. "The moment his words came out of his mouth I was like this guy is full of s—t. I’m looking at the producer, and I’m just like, am I being fooled right here? And I just kept looking at the guy and I was like you’re Borat. As soon as I said that his eyes just looked at me like, and he did a turn right out the door."
After Cohen left the store, his film crew remained and Sweidan attempted to ask them what they're doing. When they refused to answer, Sweidan said he kicked them out.
"We’re talking to the people, they don’t wanna give us an answer, we basically told them to get the f—k out," Sweidan told the news station. "You guys are all full of s—t. Have a great day. Get out."
Sweidan said once he realized the bearded man was Cohen, who is famous for playing pranks and tricks on both famous and everyday people by playing characters like the one in 2006's Borat, he refused to go along with whatever joke he had planned.
"Once I knew it was Borat, we already know his game and his bulls—t," Sweidan said. "So, we knew he’s here to make a mockery, and of what? Gun owners? The gun business? Gun shops?"
Cohen recently launched a new show called "Who is America?" on Showtime. The first episode, which aired last week, featured a segment where Cohen got a number of gun advocates and Republican lawmakers to advocate for children as young as three to carry firearms in school. Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizen Defense League, is featured playing along to a so-called training video that includes guns dressed up to look like stuffed animals. Sweidan said he was shocked by the behavior of the activists in the video and can't believe they were duped by Cohen.
"You’ve got some gun advocate holding a bunny on a gun," Sweidan said. "If you’re a gun advocate, what the f—k are you doing holding a gun with a bunny on it? Really?"
Sweidan went on to call out Cohen, Showtime, and the film crew who came into his store.
"He was fake, the producers were fake, the show was fake, and Showtime is fake to be honest with you," he said. "They want a real story, come talk to us. Well give you a real story."