A Long Way to Go For a Joke

I'll be up front and admit that the whole Borat thing kind of passed me by. Similarly, this latest Baron Cohen stunt leaves me scratching my head:

Crowds in Arkansas came for the lure of cage fighting and $1 beer, but police say what they got instead was men ripping each others' clothes off and kissing — a stunt suspected of being orchestrated by Sacha Baron Cohen of Borat fame.

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Producers said 'there would be a romantic embrace,' Holland said. 'They said it was kind of to essentially make fun, poke fun at wrestling — two guys rolling around on the floor, all sweaty.'

An elaborate array of mounted and handheld video cameras caught the crowd of 1,600's reaction as the two men 'went right up to the line' of the city's morality laws, Holland said. The two men stripped down to their underwear, kissed and rubbed on each other, the sergeant said.

The audience, as well as local fighters drawn to take part in the show, became enraged. 'It set the crowd off lobbing beers,' Holland said. 'They had beers in plastic cups. Those things can get some distance on them actually.'

Apparently there were signs to make people aware of the filming and the folks in the audience signed waivers, but I wonder if anybody actually read what they were signing (free legal advice - never sign anything without reading it!). Regardless, I guess I don't see much humor in duping people into reacting like that.