Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen apologizes to Kazakhstan after 20 years

Sacha Baron Cohen, the actor behind the Borat character, has apologized to the people of Kazakhstan for the first time in 20 years. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Cohen explained the origins of the Borat character and why he chose Kazakhstan. According to him, Borat was originally supposed to be from Albania. The character was developed for the BBC, but after the project moved to HBO, the comedian needed a different country that the American audience knew little about. Thus, the choice fell on Kazakhstan.

"I want to apologize to the people of Kazakhstan for the first time, because Borat has nothing to do with Kazakhstan. So, Kazakhstanis, if any of you received a special assignment and came here with a specific mission, please abandon it. I didn't want to harm anyone. I respect your people and your culture. Please don't take it personally," Cohen said before the audience.

Cohen also mentioned the reaction of the Kazakh embassy to the character. According to him, representatives of the country drew attention to Borat's mustache, saying that Kazakhstanis do not look like that.

"I apologize. I can't convey your accent because I don't know how you speak. You don't look like Borat at all. Kazakhstan is near Mongolia, but you are completely different," the actor said.

According to Cohen, the jokes about Borat were connected not so much with Kazakhstan as with people's ignorance. He told them fictional stories about a country they knew almost nothing about.

Recall that the film "Borat" was released in 2006 and caused criticism in Kazakhstan due to how the country and its inhabitants were portrayed. The main character is a fictional Kazakh journalist who travels to the US and finds himself in absurd situations.

At the same time, over time, the image of Borat began to be used to promote Kazakhstan. In 2020, Kazakh Tourism launched a campaign with the slogan "Very Nice!", playing on the character's famous phrase.

However, even 20 years after the film's release, not all Kazakhstanis are ready to perceive Borat as a harmless joke. In July 2026, the Kazakh men's clothing brand Shoqansuits faced calls for a boycott after publishing an advertisement featuring the character. Kursiv LifeStyle wrote about this in detail here.