Sacha Baron Cohen sent a thread of tweets after Who Is America?, the political satire television series he created, was nominated for three Emmy awards.
The series saw the actor interviewing recognisable figures while in various disguises, successfully duping participants including O.J. Simpson, former vice president Dick Cheney and former Alabama judge Roy Moore.
Tweeting after Emmys 2019 nominations announcement, Sacha thanked the board who decide the shortlists in his typically hilarious fashion – taking a moment to thank his “co-stars” too.
“It was a bare-bones production,” he said of the show on Twitter. “I went out into the heartland of this country armed only with a camera crew, a makeup kit and my trusted pedophile detector.
“I want to thank my crack team of researchers told to uncover bigotry, racism and hate in the US. That took them about 30 seconds… they just started following the President.”
With his tongue firmly in his cheek, Sacha continued: “While I am flattered at these nods, it is a shame that my co-stars were not recognized.
“Particularly Dick Cheney, who I had hoped would come across on camera as someone who’d gleefully sent hundreds of thousands to their pointless death – and boy did he deliver.
“I’ve played some lunatics in my time, but the look of vacuous evil in his eyes as he autographed a waterboard kit, would put Daniel Day Lewis to shame.”
He continued: “There’s one more person I need to thank even though she didn’t appear in the final project, Sarah Palin.
“Sarah, if you are out there, and you are WAY out there, please know the last time unseen footage generated as much interest, was when Donald Trump visited a Moscow hotel room.”
His comment is in reference to the fact Palin publicly stated she’d been pranked for the show, long before it aired.
Her revelation generated plenty of interest in the programme but having decided the interview simply wasn’t funny enough, Sacha pulled it from the series.
The show is up for the Outstanding Variety Sketch Series prize, as well a directing award and an editing one.
Numerous unsuspecting interviewees who were featured in the show found themselves facing severe consequences when the segments aired.
Jason Spencer, a Republican state representative for Georgia was met with public outcry when Who Is America? showed him using racist language, including the n-word.
He subsequently resigned from office.