Sacha Baron Cohen Invites Sarah Palin to Be His Golden Globes Date

Sacha Baron Cohen never quite delivered on punking Sarah Palin on his Showtime series "Who Is America?" but we might get super awkward red carpet interviews if she accepts his invitation to attend the Golden Globes with him next month.

The comedian invited the former vice presidential candidate to attend the ceremony with him Thursday while thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for nominating him for best actor in a comedy series, competing against Jim Carrey ("Kidding"), Michael Douglas ("The Kominsky Method"), Donald Glover ("Atlanta") and Bill Hader ("Barry").

"I appreciate the Hollywood Foreign Press for recognizing me, which luckily is something that none of the guests on the show did," he said in a statement. "This is such a special honor for me as the HFPA are always among the first to really appreciate my ever evolving humur. I am humbled to be recognized among such a wonderful group of nominees, all of whom I admire."

"This show was a labour of love for over two years. It is a shame they overlooked the amazing performances by the rest of the cast, particularly Dick Cheney and Roy Moore," he continued before dropping the kicker. "Meanwhile Ms Palin, despite being cut from the show, I hope you will accept my invitation to be my date for the ceremony."

We suspect she will not accept the invitation, even though she has the time these days, since the former Alaska governor doesn't currently hold any public office and pretty much only makes cameos on MTV's "Teen Mom OG," a reality show starring her daughter, Bristol Palin.

But OMG, she totally should, right? In fact, we can't think of a better way she could punish Cohen for duping her into flying all the way from Alaska to Washington, D.C., for a fake interview with one of his most obnoxious characters, Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., that didn't even make the final cut of the series.

Palin made headlines a few weeks before the premiere of "Who Is America?" after she lashed out at Cohen, Showtime and CBS on Facebook for tricking her.

"Yup -- we were duped. Ya' got me, Sacha. Feel better now?" she wrote at the start of her lengthy statement. "I join a long list of American public personalities who have fallen victim to the evil, exploitive, sick 'humor' of the British 'comedian' Sacha Baron Cohen, enabled and sponsored by CBS/Showtime."

Palin, who became a television personality herself and even tried to launch her own network, suggested in her angry statement that she was led to believe she was offered a genuine opportunity to honor American veterans through what she said was described as a "legit Showtime historical documentary."

"For my interview, my daughter and I were asked to travel across the country where Cohen (I presume) had heavily disguised himself as a disabled US Veteran, fake wheelchair and all," she wrote. "Out of respect for what I was led to believe would be a thoughtful discussion with someone who had served in uniform, I sat through a long 'interview' full of Hollywoodism's disrespect and sarcasm -- but finally had enough and literally, physically removed my mic and walked out, much to Cohen's chagrin."

"The disrespect of our US military and middle-class Americans via Cohen's foreign commentaries under the guise of interview questions was perverse," she continued, and then issued Cohen, Showtime and CBS a challenge.

"Donate all proceeds to a charitable group that actually respects and supports American Vets," she wrote. "Mock politicians and innocent public personalities all you want, if that lets you sleep at night, but HOW DARE YOU mock those who have fought and served our country. Truly sick."

She even appeared on "Good Morning America" to rage against Cohen, and of course didn't realize she was inadvertently giving the series the bulk of its publicity.

Cohen responded in character by tweeting, "I did NOT say I was a War Vet. I was in the service -- not military, but United Parcel, and I only fought for my country once -- when I shot a Mexican who came onto my property."

And then after the show premiered, Showtime called B.S. on some key details of her complaint.

"There has been widespread misinformation over the past week about the character of Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., Ph.D., performed by Sacha Baron Cohen on the Showtime comedy series 'Who Is America?' Baron Cohen did not present himself as a disabled veteran, and viewers nationwide who watched the premiere on Sunday can now attest to that," the network said in a statement.

"In Sunday's episode, during an interview with Senator Bernie Sanders, Baron Cohen in character as Dr. Ruddick was asked by the Senator if he is disabled, and he stated that he is not and uses a mobility scooter to conserve his energy," the network statement continued. "In addition, Baron Cohen never presented himself as a veteran of the U.S. military to former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin during the booking process or during the filming of her interview, and contrary to her claims he did not appear in a wheelchair. In both the interview with Governor Palin and the interview with Senator Sanders, he did not wear military apparel of any kind."

Palin never appeared in the series but the producers did troll her in the finale by crediting her as "Special Publicity Consultant (Inadvertent)."