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By Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Failed U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore on Wednesday sued comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for defamation and emotional distress after being pranked on the actor's television show.


The lawsuit appears to be the first actually filed by one of the string of politicians who were duped and humiliated by Baron Cohen on the show "Who is America."

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., accuses Baron Cohen of defaming Moore and says Moore "suffered extreme emotional distress" as a result of "being falsely portrayed as a sex offender and pedophile" on the show. Moore was duped into appearing on a segment where Baron Cohen demonstrated a supposed pedophile detecting device that beeped when it came near Moore.






Klayman said Moore thought he was receiving an award for supporting Israel when he agreed to appear on the show. In the segment, Baron Cohen appeared as the bushy eyebrowed faux counterterrorism instructor "Col. Erran Morad" discussing bogus military technology, including a supposed pedophile detector. The device repeatedly beeped as it got near Moore, who sat stone faced.

Baron Cohen's latest show, which began airing in July, has zinged several other political figures.





Moore's lawsuit suggests that he too signed a release, but contends it was fraudulently obtained.

Moore's lawyer wrote that as they trying to stop the segment from airing, "defendants CBS, Showtime and thus Cohen were informed that the release that Judge Moore had signed was obtained through fraud, and was therefore void and inoperative."

"Had Judge Moore and Mrs. Moore known that 'Erran Morad' was Defendant Cohen, Judge Moore would have never agreed to be interviewed," Moore's lawyer wrote in the lawsuit.