'Who Is America?' Premiere: Who Did Sacha Baron Cohen Dupe?
Victim: Christy Cones, fine art consultant, Coast Gallery, Laguna Beach
Character: Rick Sherman
What Happened: Posing as an ex-con who paints on cardboard with his bodily fluids, Baron Cohen fed a Laguna Beach gallery consultant a story that got more and more outlandish about his art — at one point he went to the bathroom and "drew" a picture of her (purported to be with his own feces) — that ended with her pulling up her skirt to donate a pubic hair to his special paintbrush, which he said was made with pubes from famous artists.
Response: In a
story posted Sunday on The Washington Post's website, Cones was shocked to learn the truth of what happened. "Oh my God, it was all an act? He faked his tears? I don’t care. Am I supposed to say I’m embarrassed? All conversations about art are important." She added: “Sacha Baron Cohen owes me a face-to-face meeting as compensation for his underhanded tactics and his preying on the vulnerable, especially by pretending to be someone who suffered when he probably hasn’t suffered a moment in his life. That’s the least he could do after putting me through this. That, and buy a painting."