In a film filled with racists, misogynists, anti-Semites, and almost all other forms of awful, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” aka ‘Borat 2,’ does have at least one shining star, Jeanise Jones. In the film, Jones is asked to watch over Borat’s daughter Tutar, and to her dismay, Jones learns that Borat is filling his daughter’s squirrel-sized brain with all sorts of terrible nonsense. The woman comes across as caring and sweet, in a film that is filled with ridiculousness. And because of that, Jones has become a bit of a folk hero and someone that fans want to make sure is taken care of.
You see, in a new interview with Variety, Jones talks about her time with the crew on ‘Borat 2.’ And as is clear by the film, she was definitely not aware of what she was getting herself into, and she definitely wasn’t paid like someone who has a standout role in a massive film that was watched by “tens of millions” during its first weekend on Amazon Prime Video.
READ MORE: Amazon Touts ‘Borat 2’s “Great Success!” With Zero Success Metrics
When asked about the situation, Jones revealed that she lives in Oklahoma City, but was flown to Washington for her part in the film. While there, she was hired as a babysitter for Tutar, where she learned about all the rules that women have to follow in Borat’s fictional culture, which includes eating out of bowls and wearing a literal ball and chain. But even with that knowledge, Jones still wasn’t concerned enough to call Child Protective Services.
“No, I never thought about that because I didn’t know what kind of rights we had,” she explained. “Because I’m thinking she’s really from a third-world [country] and that’s how they treat women and young girls. I [suggested they] take her to a school and let her observe girls in a classroom who can read and write just like boys. I was thinking it was real, so my thought was they were going to take her to see different things and make it so she could be able to stay in the United States. Evidently, that’s not what happened.”
After everything was all said and done, Jones said she was paid $3,600 and her time in the spotlight ended. But it’s that payment that has fans worried. Her local pastor set up a GoFundMe campaign to help pay Jones what people think she’s rightfully owed, with the total (as of this writing) inching up to $57,000. Even though many believe she wasn’t fairly compensated, Jones doesn’t seem to have the same displeasure with the ‘Borat 2’ crew.
“I can’t say it was fair because they knew it was going to be a movie, and I didn’t,” Jones said. “I just thought I was doing a documentary about how we do things in America. But I blame myself for not reading when I signed those papers.”
READ MORE: ‘Borat 2’: Wa Wa Wee Wa, ‘Subsequent Moviefilm’ Is Very Niiice… Not! [Review]
If you’re interested in more ‘Borat 2’ behind-the-scenes information, Sacha Baron Cohen recently tweeted a video showing the reception he saw during his time at the rally where he sang the song that is likely going to get stuck in your head again after watching the clip. You can see that below. “Borat 2” is available now on Prime Video.
