Brüno Gehard ( ; sometimes spelled ''Bruno'' or ''Brueno'') is a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

fictional character portrayed by English comedian

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen ( ; born 13 October 1971) is an English comedian, actor and performance artist. Known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Haf ...

. A flamboyantly gay fashion reporter from Austria, Brüno first appeared during short sketches on Paramount Comedy 1 in 1998, before reappearing on a 2003 episode of ''

Da Ali G Show ''Da Ali G Show'' is a British satirical sketch comedy television series created by and starring British comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen. In the series, Baron Cohen plays three unorthodox journalists: faux-streetwise poseur Ali G, Kazakh ...

''. Following the success of '' Ali G Indahouse'' and ''

Borat ''Borat'' (also known as ''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'') is a 2006 mockumentary directed by Larry Charles, which stars Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat Sagdiyev, a fictional Kazakhs, Kazakh jou ...

'',

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

gained the rights to produce and release a 2009 feature film about the character, also called ''

Brüno ''Brüno'' is a 2009 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and played the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno. It is the third film based on one of Cohen's characters f ...

''. The character has since been retired.Yahoo News: Cohen puts Bruno to bed
Yahoo, 18 July 2009

Eminem incident

In May 2009, Brüno appeared at the

MTV Movie Awards The MTV Movie & TV Awards is a film and television awards show previously presented annually on MTV. It began as the MTV Movie Awards in 1992, when its 1992 MTV Movie Awards, first edition was held, and adopted its current name in 2017, beginnin ...

, dressed as an angel with wings strapped to his buttocks as he descended on wires from the ceiling. As part of a prank, after an alleged equipment malfunction, he was lowered onto rapper

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

who was seated directly beneath him. Brüno landed in Eminem's lap in a 69-esque position, with his exposed buttocks in Eminem's face. Members of D12 helped to remove Brüno. Eminem and D12 then stormed out of the ceremony. Eminem appeared surprised and angry about the prank, but both he and Baron Cohen later claimed that the incident had been staged and rehearsed by the two. Eminem told reporters that he laughed uncontrollably for three hours in his hotel room afterward.

Reaction

The 2009 feature film Brüno was well received by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', who described him as "howlingly funny, staggeringly rude, brutally incorrect and very often just brilliant".

LGBT response

Some

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

groups have criticized the character as perpetuating LGBT stereotypes. "Sacha Baron Cohen's well-meaning attempt at

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

is problematic in many places and outright offensive in others," Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programmes for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.

Ayman Abu Aita lawsuit

Baron Cohen appeared as Brüno on ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'' in July 2009, where he made reference to Ayman Abu Aita (whom Brüno interviewed in the film) as a terrorist. Abu Aita was identified in the film as a member of

al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () are a Fatah-aligned coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Created in 2000 amidst the Second Intifada, the Brigades previously operated as the official armed wing of the F ...

, a Palestinian terrorist organization responsible for numerous suicide bombings. Abu Aita claimed that he was never a member of the group, though he had identified as such in a 2002 ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' article. He had also served two years in an Israeli prison for his role in the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

. Abu Aita made plans to sue, saying that he was misled and that he did not sign release forms for the footage of him that appeared in the film. Baron Cohen increased his security detail after ''

WorldNetDaily WND (formerly WorldNetDaily) is an Radical right (United States), American far-right news and opinion website. It is known for promoting fake news and conspiracy theories, including the false claim that former President Barack Obama Barack Obama ...

'' claimed to receive a statement from al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades threatening his life following the premiere of the film. In December 2009, Abu Aita sued Baron Cohen and Letterman at a federal court in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In November 2010, the lawsuit was dismissed in D.C. so it could be refiled in the

Supreme Court of New York The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

,Supreme Court Records Online Library
case 102524-2011 which also dismissed it in July 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gehard, Bruno Male characters in film Male characters in television Comedy television characters Fictional Austrian people Television characters introduced in 1998 Fictional gay men Da Ali G Show Ethnic humour Fictional interviewers Fictional reporters and correspondents Fictional television personalities Fictional LGBTQ characters in film Fictional LGBTQ characters in television Fictional people in fashion LGBTQ-related controversies in film LGBTQ-related controversies in television