Editing Ali G (section)

==History and appearances==
Ali G, a faux-streetwise [[poseur]] with a deeply stereotypical view of the world, first came to prominence on [[Channel 4]]'s ''[[The 11 O'Clock Show]]'' as the "voice of da yoof" in 1998.<ref>[http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,1883923,00.html "'He becomes the character, certainly with Ali G and Borat. He has a mix of Sellers' acting and Rod Hull's bottle'"] by Kirsty Scott, ''[[The Guardian]]'', 29 September 2006.</ref> He interviewed various public figures in the United Kingdom, always either embarrassing his interviewee by displaying a mixture of uninformed [[political incorrectness]], or getting the interviewee to agree to some shocking inaccuracy or insult.

Other examples of his bold interviewing style include getting [[Lindsay Urwin]], the [[Bishop of Horsham]], to admit that God created the universe and then asking him, "And since then, [God]'s just chilled?" Ali G asked the Bishop about God's appearance, to which the Bishop replied, "Well, he's sort of Jesus-shaped." During an interview with [[James Ferman]], former director of the [[British Board of Film Classification]], Ali G asks whether his made-up vulgarities would restrict a film to an over-18 audience, and suggests that [[film censorship]] be performed by younger persons who understand contemporary slang. In an interview with the chairman of the [[Arts Council of England]], [[Gerry Robinson]], Ali G's first question was, "Why is the arts so – excuse me French, but – crap?"<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=katrLNbHE9I&t=3192| title = Interview with Gerry Robinson from ''Ali G – Innit''| website = [[YouTube]]}}</ref>

Ali G appeared in the 2003 short film ''Spyz'', directed by James Bobin. It showcases Ali G as James Bond in a series of inexplicably occurring action and sex scenes. In 2004, Ali G gave the [[commencement speech]]<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUCy75CA3Aw| title = Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G) Class Day {{!}} Harvard Commencement 2004 – YouTube<!-- Bot generated title -->| website = [[YouTube]]| date = 30 January 2015}}</ref> at Harvard.

Ali G was in a series of ads for the [[2005–06 NBA season]], in which he used his brand of off-kilter journalism to interview various NBA stars. The spots were directed by [[Spike Lee]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://lao-ocean.com/2005/11/06/nba-commercials-with-ali-g/ |title=NBA commercials with Ali G |access-date=13 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005021307/http://lao-ocean.com/2005/11/06/nba-commercials-with-ali-g/ |archive-date=5 October 2013 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

Ali G was also featured in the music video "[[Music (Madonna song)|Music]]" by [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] as her limo driver. He complains that her "babylons" are not as big as they appear to be on TV and calls her "[[Diego Maradona|Maradona]]" when asking to be in her next video.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2008/11/12/top-trl-video-cameos-ali-g-shows-madonna-the-real-big-ben/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527073943/http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2008/11/12/top-trl-video-cameos-ali-g-shows-madonna-the-real-big-ben |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 May 2010 |title=Top 'TRL' Video Cameos: Ali G Shows Madonna The Real Big Ben! |publisher=MTV |date=13 November 2008 |access-date=29 August 2012}}</ref><ref name="bbc">{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/731080.stm | work=BBC News | title=Ali G 'stars in Madonna video' | date=30 April 2000}}</ref>

Baron Cohen received the Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2012 [[British Comedy Awards]] and appeared in character as Ali G to accept the trophy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-20696034|title=Sacha Baron Cohen honoured at British Comedy Awards|publisher=BBC News|date=13 December 2012}}</ref>

In 2015 Ali G appeared at the [[88th Academy Awards]]. Baron Cohen did not tell the ceremony's producers beforehand that he would appear on stage as his Ali G character instead of himself. He and his then-wife, actress [[Isla Fisher]], locked themselves in the bathroom for 40 minutes to secretly put on his costume, after telling people he had food poisoning.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-sacha-baron-cohen-academy-871690 | title=Oscars: Sacha Baron Cohen Says Academy Didn't Know He'd Present as Ali G | magazine=Hollywood Reporter | date=1 March 2016 | access-date=3 March 2016}}</ref>