Cinema Chains Face Email Blitz Over Sequel

NewsCord, a British media advocacy platform, generated approximately 55,000 emails to cinema chains demanding they remove Sacha Baron Cohen’s satirical sequel, Ali G: Who Iz I?, from their schedules. The digital campaign targeted major exhibitors including Cineworld, Odeon, Landmark, and Cinemark. The film currently streams on Amazon Prime Video following a limited theatrical run that drew mixed reviews.

The push for the film began when the first trailer debuted on August 25. British commentator Afua Hirsch publicly challenged the character’s portrayal of Black culture and women, describing the humor as outdated. Cohen previously noted that the character satirizes white British youth who imitate exaggerated versions of Black American and British styles. The backlash prompted the production team to weave the criticism into their promotional strategy, including a clip featuring a fictional academic calling for a boycott.

NewsCord leverages a specialized language model to help users draft personalized complaints for cinema businesses. The platform claims these emails represent 55,000 distinct participants, though The Hollywood Reporter characterized that figure as potentially misleading. Picturehouse, a London-based chain, removed itself from the target list after confirming it had no plans to screen the sequel. On October 23, when the film opened in theaters, NewsCord declared its campaign successful, pointing to Amazon’s limited exhibition strategy. Amazon described the theatrical rollout as a stunt release.

The organization behind the campaign is NewsCord, which was incubated by the nonprofit Tech for Palestine. Tech for Palestine has faced scrutiny from the Anti-Defamation League and Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies regarding its influence on Wikipedia entries about the Israel-Palestine conflict. The nonprofit has also supported Boycat, an app that advocated for boycotts of Disney’s Snow White and Captain America: Brave New World. Paul Biggar, the founder and CEO of Tech for Palestine, previously accused Israel of manipulating IMDb reviews in October 2024.

Monica Levinson, an executive producer on the sequel who previously worked with Cohen on Borat and Brüno, told The Hollywood Reporter that some resistance was expected. However, she stated that the scale of the attack on Cohen as a Jewish public figure was disheartening. She described the coordination and messaging of the campaign as astounding. Neither NewsCord nor Tech for Palestine responded to inquiries regarding the email volume or their specific targets.

Cohen addressed the campaign before the film’s release, noting that he believed much of the social media activity was coordinated rather than driven by genuine individual conviction. He stated that he expected prominent Jewish figures to be targeted but was surprised by the degree of organization. He characterized the effort as part of a broader attempt to portray Jews in specific ways and silence their voices.

The film’s release strategy involved a limited theatrical window before moving to streaming. This approach aligned with the timeline of the email campaign, which peaked around the October 23 opening date. The involvement of major theater chains in the target list indicated an attempt to pressure the physical exhibition sector directly.