10 Times Borat Went Too Far
4. In My Country, There Is Problem (Da Ali G Show)
Sacha Baron Cohen, who is himself Jewish, has more than once used the character of Borat to expose the ugly antisemitism that is often lurking just under the surface of polite society.
Perhaps one of the best-known examples of this from Da Ali G Show is his performance at a country club in Texas to an unfortunately receptive audience. Introducing the song as “In My Country, There Is Problem”, the first verse starts out innocuously enough with Borat singing of how bad transport in Kazakhstan is and how it needs to be ‘thrown down the well’ so his country can be free.
The next verse quickly moves to darker territory, as Borat tells us how he sees Jewish people as another problem with his country that also needs to be thrown down the well.
While some patrons of the bar look visibly uncomfortable, a worrying number of others are happy to keep clapping along to this anti-Semitic anthem. Keep a look out for the man in a red shirt and cowboy hat looking particularly enthusiastic, and who we can only hope has changed for the better since this segment was recorded.