US judge dismisses Borat claims

Sacha Baron Cohen plays Borat in the 2006 film

A US judge has thrown out legal claims by a driving instructor and two etiquette teachers who claimed they were deceived by the makers of Borat.

In a ruling made last week, New York judge Loretta Preska said they accepted money and signed agreements releasing the film-makers from liability.

She noted they had agreed to appear in a "documentary-style" film, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Borat, starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, took £150m in cinemas.

The 36-year-old played an uncultured and anti-Semitic Kazakhstan journalist travelling across the US in pursuit of actress Pamela Anderson in the 2006 film.

Cohen often performed spoof interviews with people along the way.

During the film, one of the etiquette teachers urged Cohen not to talk about human faeces at the dinner table.

Tricked

The film has been hit by a number of legal claims.

Two college students from a South Carolina university tried to sue film-makers soon after the film's release.

They claimed they were tricked into appearing in the film and had suffered humiliation and emotional and physical distress as a result.

They said the movie's producers fooled them into signing a release form after being told the film would not be shown in the US.

And two residents of Glod, Romania sued 20th Century Fox for $30m (£15.2m), claiming they and their neighbours were depicted as rapists and criminals.

These lawsuits were also dismissed.

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