Sacha Baron Cohen Explains Why Sarah Palin's Interview Was Left On The Cutting Room Floor

Sarah Palin hardly appeared in Showtime's Who Is America, despite her deep outrage at being interviewed for it.

It was her very public outrage that provided nearly all of the show's advertisement.

Who is America?, which premiered on July 15th of this year, involved Sacha Baron Cohen going undercover as made-up characters to illicit reactions from real Americans on film.

"I made a real effort to not misconstrue, or edit to misrepresent anyone who's on camera. There were no tricks in editing where we put words into people's mouths." says Baron Cohen, in an interview with Deadline. 

"People are allowed to reveal their true selves, whatever their political background."

Palin's complaints about the show were so helpful in advertising it that she was actually listed in the show's credits as a "Special Publicity Consultant (Inadvertent)."

Baron Cohen revealed the reason she barely appeared onscreen in that same article: she just wasn't all that funny.

He had previously said that people weren't missing much by Palin not being included in the show, but now he has revealed what he meant by that statement.

"Ultimately, I looked at the footage and it just wasn't funny enough. For the pieces to be good, there has to be a good comic dynamic."

"She was just delivering these kind of rote answers, as if she was doing a campaign speech. And even though I sat with her I think for about two-and-a-half hours, there was no comedy gold."

This news just seemed to make fans of the show more eager to see the footage.

Some were of the opinion that her failure to be funny was a reflection of Baron Cohen's abilities as a comedian.

Others agreed with his assessment of Sarah Palin, or found it amusing.

Facebook

Facebook

Who is America? aired only seven episodes on Showtime. However there is no second season planned.

Baron Cohen stated in multiple interviews that the series could not return for a second season with the element of surprise gone and inability to fool potential guests.