Sacha Baron Cohen’s new comedy, The Brothers Grimsby, opens March 11, but you probably haven’t seen any ads for it. That’s because the film contains scenes in which Donald Trump and Daniel Radcliffe, the actor best known as Harry Potter, contract HIV.
Obviously, this is played for laughs, and as anyone who has seen Cohen’s Borat or Brüno can attest, the comedian is not known for family-friendly, politically correct humor.
The film already premiered in Europe, and newspapers there report that audiences cheer at the Trump scene and even give a standing ovation—though this has more to do with people’s dislike of Trump than with HIV. One viewer tweeted that the “whole cinema clapped” when Trump got AIDS.
The controversial scenes involve a Radcliffe look-alike being sprayed by the blood of an HIV-positive African boy who has been hit by a stray bullet, according to EW. In a later scene, a stray bullet strikes Radcliffe, whose tainted blood infects the nearby Trump.
When the film was shot last summer, it was Queen Elizabeth who contracted the virus, reported the Daily Mail. But that didn’t make the final cut, and Trump became the target.
The film’s plot revolves around two brothers separated as children. One grows up to be an elite government assassin, while the other (Cohen) is a dim-witted working-class family man intent on reconnecting with his long-lost brother.
Inside sources at Sony tell Huffington Post that the studio is worried about offending the presidential front-runner, who’s famous for filing lawsuits. As a result, the studio has not promoted the movie in the United States. Other sources say that Sony isn’t actually worried about offending Trump and that the studio has manufactured the controversy as a publicity stunt.
Of note, none of the sources or reviewers voiced concerns about offending people actually living with HIV/AIDS.
In the states, Cohen has been hitting the late-night talk shows, and celebs such as Kim Kardashian West have promoted the movie via social media:
Our reaction to @sachabaroncohen’s movie “The Brothers Grimsby”’. You guys are gonna die!!!!! You have to go see it! pic.twitter.com/MIp5GJ1HhD
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) March 2, 2016
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