In the fifth episode of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Who Is America?, a man named Daniel Roberts — the founder and president of Youth Shooters of America — found himself in a, um, precarious position while filming with Cohen’s “Erran Morad†character for an anti-terrorism segment. Among other exercises, the “former Mossad agent†was able to get Roberts to suck on and bite a strap-on dildo he was wearing, as a last-resort deterrent in the event of his own beheading. All of this nonsense easily made Roberts emerge as the most damning presence in the episode, but the man isn’t taking his duping as lighthearted as some other victims. In fact, he might sue. “There’s going to be a limit to some things I can say because I am actively exploring what legal remedies may be available,†Roberts told the New York Times in a recent interview. “What can I do? It’s up there. I can’t deny it.â€
Roberts goes on to explain while he was “extraordinarily uncomfortable†with many of the things Cohen’s character asked him to do, his profound respect for the Israeli military is what kept him believing the segment was being presented in good faith. “If you believe yourself to be in the presence of what anyone would rightly describe as experts in their field, and they are telling you that these are techniques or tactics that they themselves have used,†he said, “and you’re just a rank amateur, would you question it?†As for the dildo, Roberts had the same logic for that as well:
The use of the — what’s the polite way to describe this? — the use of the sexual device as a prop, in my mind, it made sense. Think about what they’re claiming: a last resort. You have one chance to do something, or you’re certain you’re going to die. That’s the scenario they’ve laid out. I don’t know many people, if they were completely honest, that they would say they wouldn’t take that opportunity to maybe, hopefully, grab one thing to maybe save their lives.
Roberts ultimately likens his experience to a “malicious†act from Showtime and Cohen. Still, at least he wasn’t those three quinceañera commandos.