It looks like the only dictator on the red carpet at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony will be the Academy itself.
After rumors circulated that comedian Sacha Baron Cohen — of “Borat” and “Bruno” fame — planned to attend the awards show dressed as his latest outrageous character, Admiral General Alladeen from the upcoming “The Dictator,” the Academy pulled Cohen’s invitation from the show.
The comedian was expected to attend since a film he acts in, the Martin Scorsese-directed “Hugo,” was nominated for 11 awards, including best picture. Cohen is also a voting member of the Academy.
“Unless they’re assured that nothing entertaining is going to happen on the red carpet, the Academy is not admitting Sacha Baron Cohen to the show,” a representative from Paramount Pictures, the company that produced “Hugo,” told Deadline.
The stuffy suits were none too pleased that the serious occasion could be marred by Cohen’s appearance as his Sadaam Hussein-meets-Gadhafi character.
Cohen is known for his extremely crude — and often nude — characters, who parody current events.
It’s a shame, since the consistently bland, three-hour ceremony could have used a little comic relief.