“Not a racist character” - Ali G: Who Iz I? writer finally breaks silence on racism claims

Ali G: Who Iz I? writer Colton Dunn has defended Sacha Baron Cohen's controversial character, following renewed criticism that the forthcoming movie perpetuates harmful racial stereotypes. He is one of three black writers on the Amazon MGM Studios film.

Dunn explained that he doesn’t see the racism issues raised about the character and feels the comedy is still focused on making fun of the people Ali G meets, not black people. According to Deadline, he said:

"From my point of view, Ali G is not a racist character. Ali G is a tool to expose racists."

That debate only heated up after the movie trailer went viral online, with plenty of excitement and pushback. Celebrities such as Jack Black, Tom Brady and Diplo welcomed the return of Ali G, though an online campaign called for British cinemas to reject the film over concerns about racial caricature.

The controversy is especially significant considering that Ali G rose to prominence in the late 1990s as a suburban white male trying to imitate elements of Black street culture.

Nearly three decades later, some Black British comedians argue that audiences may now interpret the character differently from how he was originally intended. As for Dunn, he has made it clear that there's nothing racist about the character.

Find out more details below.

Ali G: Who Iz I? writer explains why he backed the movie

Writer Colton Dunn has contributed to Ali G: Who Iz I? and recently talked about the controversy going around the character. In the same interview, he explained why he agreed to work on the movie.

Dunn said that Ali G deliberately puts himself into extremely strange, embarrassing, and sometimes risky situations. However, he is not doing these things because he hates Black people or wants to make racist jokes.

Ali doing all these things is part of the comedy, and the character sometimes enters situations where people might react very badly if they understood his real identity, intentions, or what he is pretending to be. So, the target of the joke is Ali G and the people he encounters, rather than Black people themselves.

The writer of Ali G: Who Iz I? also added:

"I don’t think he’s [Baron Cohen] doing that from a racist point of view. That’s why I signed on. I wouldn’t sign on to work with somebody that I thought was racist, that’s against everything that I’ve done."

Dunn says he would not have joined the movie if he believed Baron Cohen was genuinely being racist. Working on something he considered racist would go against his own values and the work he has done throughout his career.

Ali G: Who Iz I? returns to a changed comedy scene

Actor Sacha Baron Cohen (Image Source: Getty)

The reaction to Ali G: Who Iz I? shows how much the conversation around comedy and representation has shifted since the character first appeared. Dane Baptiste has questioned the image of Blackness associated with Ali G, while Mo Gilligan has recalled how familiar the portrayal became for British audiences.

According to Variety, a campaign was launched by NewsCord calling on cinemas to avoid screening the movie, claiming that the character reinforces racist stereotypes. The campaign said it had generated more than 36,000 emails to cinema chains.

The controversy is nothing new. As stated above, Ali G originated in 1998 as a white character who performed elements of Black British and Jamaican culture, and the original comedy was based on his ignorance and cultural appropriation.

Now critics wonder whether that joke still works today. British writer Afua Hirsch said (via Variety):

"I just knew he was mocking us. Black people don’t dress like that anymore. Even white people imitating Black people don’t talk like that anymore."

Hirsch continued:

"Sexualizing black women and casually mocking working-class women is not accepted anymore. Baron Cohen’s so-called ‘humour’ is a crude compound of all these things."

However, reports that Picturehouse had rejected Ali G: Who Iz I? were misleading. Variety reported that the cinema chain had not yet made a decision about screening it. The film is scheduled for release on October 23.