Showtime and Sacha Baron Cohen push back against Sarah Palin

NEW YORK — Showtime and Sacha Baron Cohen are pushing back against allegations the comedian duped guests on his new show by posing as a disabled veteran.

The network said in a statement Monday that Baron Cohen “did not present himself as a disabled veteran” or wear any military apparel when he met with Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

“There has been widespread misinformation over the past week about the character of Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., Ph.D., performed by Sacha Baron Cohen on the SHOWTIME comedy series WHO IS AMERICA?” the statement said. “Baron Cohen did not present himself as a disabled veteran, and viewers nationwide who watched the premiere on Sunday can now attest to that.”

“Baron Cohen never presented himself as a veteran of the US military to former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin during the booking process or during the filming of her interview, and contrary to her claims he did not appear in a wheelchair,” Showtime added.

The statement noted that when the character Ruddick was asked by Sanders he responded that he is not “and uses a mobility scooter to conserve his energy.”

Palin last week on Facebook complained that Baron Cohen “heavily disguised himself” as a disabled US veteran in a wheelchair when she was “duped” into an interview. She challenged Baron Cohen and Showtime to donate proceeds from the show to a veterans’ charity.

In the new show “Who Is America?” Baron Cohen dons various prosthetics and accents in an attempt to embarrass those on the right and left.

Following Palin’s complaint, Baron Cohen used a Twitter account in Ruddick’s name to post a letter addressed to Palin in which he further lampooned the former Alaska governor and demanded she apologize to him.

Here's the truth @SarahPalinUSA ???????? #MAGA #buildthewall #boycottsashacohen pic.twitter.com/iFZWrFTxWL

— Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., PhD (@BillyWRuddick) July 12, 2018

“It was I that interviewed you,” Baron Cohen wrote as Ruddick in the letter. “I did NOT say I was a War Vet. I was in the service–not military, but United Parcel and I only fought for my country once–when I shot a Mexican who came onto my property.”

He then noted he had always admired her for “telling the truth about [President Barack] Obama’s birth certificate and the location of Russia.”

“(Coincidentaly, just like our Great President, I was sadly prevented from joining the regular army on my account of bone spurs bein discovered in my testies),” he wrote in apparently deliberate poor grammar and spelling.

“But ma’am, I do believe you have been hit by a bullshit grenade and are now bleedin’ FAKE NEWS.”

“You used to hunt the most dangerous animals in the country, like wolves and people on welfare. So why hunt a fine citizen jounralist like myself?”

“I DEMAND AN APOLOGY,” he ended.