(Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)
On Showtime’s “Who Is America?” Sunday night, Georgia state Rep. Jason Spencer (R) exposed himself and yelled racial epithets during a fake military-training session conducted by host Sacha Baron Cohen, who was dressed as a military commando.
In case you were wondering, yes, it was as bad as it sounds and Representative Spencer is now being asked to step down from his position as a result.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, who called the appearance “appalling and offensive.”
Meanwhile, Representative Spencer is attempted to defend himself, sending a tweet to The Washington Times that reads in part:
“Sacha Baron Cohen and his associates took advantage of my paralyzing fear that my family would be attacked. In posing as an Israeli Agent, he pretended to offer self-defense exercises. As uncomfortable as I was to participate, I agreed to, understanding that these ‘techniques’ were meant to help me and others fend off what I believed was an inevitable attack.
“My fears were so heightened at that time, I was not thinking clearly nor could I appreciate what I was agreeing to when I participated in his ‘class.’ I was told I would be filmed as a ‘demonstration video’ to teach others the same skills in Israel. Sacha and his crew further lied to me, stating that I would be able to review and have final approval over any footage used.
“I deeply regret the language I used at his request as well as my participation in the ‘class’ in general. If I had not been so distracted by my fears, I never would have agreed to participate in the first place.”
WIBC host Tony Katz commented on the humiliation of Representative Jason Spencer Monday:
“Look this is low-end and low hanging fruit. But what happens when you are low-end and you are only able to get someone who is also low-end, low rent, and low class?
…Now the question is, here you are dealing with Cohen playing a part. Jason Spencer should have known it was weird. But there is a whole section of the video when the character of Cohen got him to take down his pants and chase Cohen around with his buttocks hanging out. At what point do you say, ‘You know what? This isn’t something I do.’ At what point does that happen?
Even if Spencer believed him, at one point do you simply decide that you’re not going to do something like this on camera?”
Click the link below to hear Tony’s full commentary:
