Perhaps realizing that not having The Muppets perform their Best Song nomination, and relying on Cirque Du Soleil as the big centerpiece of entertainment (aside from handing out awards of course) on Sunday night, the Academy has relented on their ban — sort of — and allowed Sacha Baron Cohen to show up as his character from "The Dictator" on the red carpet before changing into his formal attire for the ceremony.
“VICTORY IS OURS! Today the Mighty Nation of Wadiya triumphed over the Zionist snakes of Hollywood. Evil and all those who made Satan their protector were vanquished and driven into the Pacific Sea. What I am trying to say here is that the Academy have surrendered and sent over two tickets and a parking pass! TODAY OSCAR, TOMORROW OBAMA!,” General Aladeen said in a statement.
Frankly, this seems to us like something to look forward to during the red carpet preamble, besides the seizure inducing nonsense of Billy Bush or whatever mindless entertainment channel drone will be conducting the interviews. They should just have Sacha's Dictator do the whole damn red carpet to be honest. Either way this is all pretty great and free promo for Paramount's comedy, so they're loving this "controversy" for sure, but with all this hype, Cohen better bring the funny.
The Academy Awards are on Sunday and "The Dictator" begins its Oscar qualifying run on May 11th. [Deadline]
