Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, fell for an embarrassing Sacha Baron Cohen prank in the soon-to-be-released movie sequel to "Borat."
In the film, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, Giuliani and a young woman posing as a reporter, who was part of Cohen's sting, can be seen going into a hotel bedroom for drinks — at the woman's invitation — after completing what Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, apparently believed to be a real interview about the coronavirus pandemic and Trump's response to it.
The incident occurred as Giuliani, 76, was trying to remove his microphone, with the help of the actress, which had been used as part of the movie's "interview" with him.
The film, which is being released Friday on Amazon Prime Video, shows Giuliani reclining on a bed and then putting his hand down his pants and moving it around for what appears to be a few seconds while the actress playing Borat's teenage daughter, Maria Bakalova, 24, who is pretending to be a television reporter, stands in front of him.
NBC News obtained an advance copy of the film, which is titled "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."
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Giuliani and the woman, recorded by what seem to be hidden cameras, are eventually interrupted by Cohen, who bursts into the bedroom in his Borat persona, shouting: "She's 15. She's too old for you!"
Giuliani quickly sits up and appears startled by the presence of Cohen, who wears a pink outfit that resembles lingerie.
Giuliani asks him: "Why are you dressed like this?"
Cohen-as-Borat responds: "She's my daughter. Please, take me instead."
"I don't want you," Giuliani replies. He then makes his way out of the hotel suite.
Giuliani, who in the context of the film had no reason to believe the fictional interviewer was underage, did not immediately respond to text messages requesting comment.
In a tweet Wednesday afternoon, Giuliani claimed without evidence that the "Borat video is a complete fabrication."
"I was tucking in my shirt after taking off the recording equipment," Giuliani tweeted. "At no time before, during, or after the interview was I ever inappropriate. If Sacha Baron Cohen implies otherwise he is a stone-cold liar."
On Thursday, "Borat" spoke about the incident.
Beyond what is seen in the movie, NBC News does not know what happened before or after the filmed incident.
The film also features a scene in which Bakalova asks Giuliani about the coronavirus pandemic. He responds that China "manufactured" Covid-19 and "deliberately spread it all over the world."
"I don't think anybody was eating bats," he adds before jokingly asking her whether she has ever eaten a bat. He appears to agree to eat one if she will.
The prank is one of the most notable moments in the "Borat" sequel, which also includes a scene in which Cohen crashes the Conservative Political Action Conference while wearing a full-body Trump costume.
Giuliani's appearance in the film was foreshadowed in the New York Post this summer. In early July, Giuliani said he called the New York City Police Department after the setup.
"This guy comes running in, wearing a crazy, what I would say was a pink transgender outfit," Giuliani was quoted as saying, referring to Cohen.
"This person comes in yelling and screaming, and I thought this must be a scam or a shake-down, so I reported it to the police. He then ran away," he added, acknowledging that he did not immediately realize that Cohen was behind the stunt.
"I only later realized it must have been Sacha Baron Cohen. I thought about all the people he previously fooled and I felt good about myself because he didn't get me," Giuliani said.
