On Thursday, Baron Cohen won a $95 million defamation lawsuit brought by Moore, who said he was duped into a TV appearance that followed sexual misconduct allegations against him. The US Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, affirming a lower court’s ruling in favor of Baron Cohen, said Moore had signed a disclosure agreement barring any legal claim for the appearance. The three judges also found it was “pure comedy” when Baron Cohen introduced a so-called pedophile detector that beeped when it approached Moore and no viewer would believe the comedian was making real allegations against Moore. Allegations of sexual harassment swirled around Moore when he ran as a Republican to represent Alabama in the US Senate in 2017, a race he lost to Democrat Doug Jones, despite the state being one of the most conservative in the country. The lawsuit centered on Moore’s appearance on Who is America?, a show created by the comedian. Moore, a Republican known for his hard-line views opposing same-sex marriage and supporting the public display of the Ten Commandments, had said he was receiving an award for his support of Israel. But in the segment, Baron Cohen appeared as a fake counter-terrorism instructor, “Col Erran Morad,” discussing fake military technology, including the alleged pedophile detector. The fake device beeped repeatedly as it approached Moore, who was sitting stone-faced. Roy has been accused of having sexual and romantic relationships with teenagers when he was a man in his 30s, allegations he denies. “Baron Cohen may have implied (despite his disclaimers of a belief that Judge Moore was a pedophile) that he believed Judge Moore’s accusers, but he did not imply the existence of any independent factual basis for that belief other than the obviously farcical detection pedophile “device,” which no reasonable person could believe to be a real, functioning piece of technology,” the court wrote in the unsigned summary judgment. Moore and his wife, Kayla, sued, claiming the department defamed Moore and caused them emotional distress. The couple claimed the waiver Moore signed was unenforceable because it was obtained under false pretenses. The appellate court noted that it was indeed a ruse that got Moore to appear on the show, but Moore signed a binding release waiving all legal claims. Baron Cohen has been luring unwitting politicians into awkward interviews for years. He has faced previous lawsuits over similar pranks, but those were also dismissed because the people had signed pledges. Moore and his wife said they would appeal. “For too long the American people have suffered the antics of Sacha Baron Cohen. His vicious and deceitful behavior must stop. We will appeal,” the couple said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. The Associated Press contributed to the report
