Comedic actor Sacha Baron Cohen — best known for portraying a crude journalist from Kazakhstan in the 2006 film "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" — was detained by police in Milan, Italy, on Thursday after storming a runway during a fashion show by designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada as Brьno, his flamboyant Austrian fashionista alter ego.
According to the comedian's publicist, Matt Labov, Cohen was not charged with a crime by the Italian authorities but was detained and released within the same hour. Labov would neither confirm nor deny reports that Cohen's catwalk crash was filmed for inclusion in his forthcoming film, which centers around his Brьno character. Reports suggest the film's working title is "Brьno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt."
In video shot during the incident, Cohen — wearing a blond wig — can be seen rushing the catwalk dressed in a Velcro suit and black cloak, adorned with handbags, boots and other accoutrements. Security attempted to remove him from the runway, but Cohen — who didn't break character — evaded them as he continued to strut down the catwalk. Police were called when Cohen refused to leave.
Later in the video, he's seen being led away from the fashion show by police, and he attempts to shield his face as he is escorted into a police car.
According to The Huffington Post, Cohen was not carrying identification with him at the time of his detainment and asked authorities if he could use the phone. It was the second instance in which the actor disrupted an event during Milan's fashion week. He also crashed Italian designer Iceberg's show, but security guards managed to catch him before he made it to the runway.
Cohen's presence in Milan has forced several fashion houses to beef up their security details.
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(Reuters)
