The babysitter in 'Borat 2' says she was 'shocked' to learn the film was a comedy, and was told it would only be released in the UK
- Jeanise Jones, the babysitter in the 'Borat' sequel, said she was told by the film's producers that she would probably never see the movie.
- Jones believed the movie was a documentary about women living in parts of the world without rights, and that it would be released in the UK.
- In reality, the film is a mockumentary-comedy, and Borat, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, and Tutar, played by Maria Bakalova, are not real.
The babysitter whose presence was pivotal to the plot of the "Borat" sequel said she was told by the film's producers that she would probably never see the movie.
In "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," the sequel to Sacha Baron Cohen's 2006 mockumentary "Borat," Jeanise Jones babysat Tutar, played by actress Maria Bakalova, whom she believed was Borat's teenaged daughter. Jones told Insider in an interview that her lines were unscripted when she spent time with Bakalova, whom she believed was a real girl named Tutar from Kazakhstan whose father taught her that women don't have rights.
Jones' role was important to the plot of the film, as she taught Tutar that women and men are equal.
Jones, 62, told Insider that she "was shocked" to learn that the documentary she participated in, which she believed was about women from impoverished countries, was actually a comedy.
"Misled is a kind of harsh word, but we were not aware it would be rated R, let's put it that way," she said of her feelings on the film.
Jones has not yet seen the Amazon Studios movie, since she does not subscribe to Amazon Prime. But when she agreed to participate in the movie last year — after the production team sought out a "Black grandmother" from the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, according to her pastor, Derrick Scobey, who spoke with Insider — she thought the film would not be released in the US.
"We were told that the US wasn't gonna see it that much, mainly the UK," she told Insider. "I didn't think nobody really would see it."
Jones added that she had never heard of Baron Cohen or the first "Borat" movie. Her pastor, Scobey, told Insider in an interview that he and Jones are "not fans of that type of comedy."
Scobey said that the members of his church "have to have this intuition of who is lying to us," but that they always want to help others.
"Jeanise is nowhere near gullible. In fact, none of us are," Scobey said. But, he added, "we are very open people."
Scobey set up a GoFundMe page for Jones after seeing tweets about her role in the film, he said. "As her pastor who loves her and is going to protect her … this money is for her. This is to help her, this is to help her family, especially during Covid," he said, adding that Jones had been laid off during the pandemic.
Jones, who is considered the moral compass of the movie, said she is "in awe" of the support she's gotten from around the world since the film was released on Friday.
Asked whether she regrets participating in the film under false pretenses, Jones said she does not.
"I think it was worth it," Jones said, citing the outpouring of support from strangers who saw the movie. "There's people like me that's out there, you just got to find them."
- Read more:
- The 'Borat 2' babysitter says she only made $3,600 for being tricked in the film. Now, she's unemployed and feels 'betrayed.'
- Sacha Baron Cohen says he spent 5 days in character while living with conspiracy theorists for 'Borat 2'
- The Instagram influencer in 'Borat 2' admits she was uncomfortable while filming movie
- Trump responds to second 'Borat' film, where a deleted scene shows the film's actress at the White House, calling Sacha Baron Cohen 'a creep'