By now, everyone has either heard or seen the infamous clip from Borat 2 that featured Rudy Giuliani in a rather compromising position. It depicted the former New York mayor untucking his shirt while lying on a hotel room bed, with an underage journalist in the room. Tutar (Maria Bakalova) appeared to be helping until Borat (Sacha Baron Cohen) burst into the room. At that point, Giuliani ended the interview, and the fictional Kazakh journalists absconded before the mayor's security team could respond.
The funny thing about Cohen catching Giuliani with his pants down is it happened by accident.
During an interview with Ben Affleck on Variety's Actors on Actors, Cohen made it clear that his cue to interrupt the interview got delayed. Apparently, the comedian was waiting for a message from his director to jump out of a secret compartment, but because his phone had a low battery, he kept turning it off and on to conserve juice. It wasn't until Bakalova was in the adjoining room with Giuliani that Cohen received the call to intervene. And when he did, he found his partner and their mark in what's still the most controversial moment in the film.
The Dangers
While the scene played out to perfection, there are a couple of other pertinent takeaways worth noting. For one, the situation could've gone very awry. Cohen emphasized to Affleck during their talk that his primary concern was keeping Bakalova safe. He had no idea what Giuliani would do confronted with a setup, especially in a private room. Or if Trump's lawyer had experience dealing with similar situations, it could've put Bakalova in unnecessary danger. Of course, the greater fear was likely what a man caught sexually exposing himself to a young journalist would do to keep their inappropriate exchange a secret. Giuliani is a powerful man with connections, after all.
Another factor deserving of attention is the fact that Giuliani's security team could've caught on to the prank. Had they, Bakalova and Cohen might not have left the building unscathed. The duo rushed out, hightailing it through an elevator for fear of recourse, which lends credence to their safety concerns.
Keep in mind that their capture may have resulted in some unintended consequences, like their equipment getting seized. Giuliani's security detail could've also detained the pranksters just for rank suspicion. Cohen's production team was standing by to lend assistance but had Giuliani sent the faux reporters to another room, who knows what would've transpired. For all we know, someone from Rudy's camp could've accused the duo of inappropriately conducting an interview. In which case, criminal charges may have been proposed, along with an order to delete all footage captured during the faux meeting.
Surprisingly enough, none of those unfortunate scenarios came to pass. And what's more, Giuliani actually signed a release to allow his likeness to be used in the film. He probably didn't read the fine print close enough because the agreement more than likely specified that the footage would be in Borat: Subsequent Film. Legal contracts have to be direct—without tiptoeing around the true meaning—so it was the New York mayor's fault for not paying closer attention. Giuliani's team is also partly to blame since none of them vetted Bakalova properly to determine that she was an imposter.
Nevertheless, Cohen and Bakalova's efforts paid off in the end. They captured one of the funniest sequences in Borat 2, and they didn't get arrested. Getting caught was one of Cohen's biggest fear, evidenced by his dash to get out of the hotel, but everything worked out in the end.