Borat benefits a house of worship — “very nice!”
In the new straight-to-Amazon-Prime sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan — amid a load of political commentary — the fictitious Kazakh television journalist travels to America with a gift for Mike Pence: his teenaged daughter, Tutar.
According to the plot, both daughter and dad (portrayed by ambush comedian Sacha Baron Cohen) believe if their mission fails, he will be executed.
Amid the zany twists and turns, he places Tutar in the charge of a kindly Christian woman named Jeanise Jones.
And the 62-year-old wasn’t in on the joke — as noted by The Daily Wire, she was led to believe a foreign documentary was being filmed. And she was chosen by producers who came to Oklahoma City’s Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church looking for “elderly black women” with “grandmotherly” qualities.
They certainly got the grandmother part right: The mother of three has six.
And she was such a kind soul in the movie, she became — in the words of The Oklahoman — its “hero, moral compass and breakout star.”
But that rise didn’t come without repercussions — Jeanise was put in charge of a girl she believed was in peril.
She confirmed to Showbiz 411:
“I totally believed she was 15 and that he had left her there with me. She told me she was being groomed to be Donald Trump’s mistress if she didn’t find another rich husband. She had to find a rich husband to save her father. I believed her, she was good.”
Therefore, she had her church praying for the young girl.
And for her stress, she was paid only $3,600.
However, following the movie’s October 23rd premier, Ebenezer’s Rev. Derrick Scobey started a GoFundMe for the grandma.
Here’s, in part, what he wrote:
“She was recruited from our church the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Oklahoma City after Producers spoke to me about needing a “Black Grandmother” for a small role in a ‘documentary.’ Jeanise emerged as that person and she was completely unaware that this was a comedy, and all of this was made up. We have been praying for the young lady in the movie because we all genuinely thought she was in trouble. The joke is on us/Jeanise, and that’s no problem. Many of you have reached from around the world to say thank you, so I thought it would be great to give people a vehicle to say thank you in a tangible way, She wasn’t paid much money at all for her role in this movie.
Being paid was particularly important — due to COVID, she recently lost her job of 32 years.
Jeanise Jones is the amazing voice of hope and reason in the new #Borat film. She lost her job of over 30 years because of COVID, and her pastor started a GoFundMe for her. https://t.co/YH6C1KUld3
— The Rude Pundit (@rudepundit) October 27, 2020
Amid all the attention, earlier this week, star Sacha Baron Cohen stepped in.
Per The Daily Wire, he’s reportedly donated $100,000 to the humble-hearted woman’s church.
Borat's Sacha Baron Cohen 'donates $100,000 to Jeanise Jones' church' https://t.co/j8gspgGQ3M
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) October 30, 2020
The poor lady — thanks to the prank, she endured great distress for a long while.
Rev. Derrick explained:
“This was not scripted for Jeanise. It all came from the heart. She is one of the most authentic people I’ve ever met. One good thing that has come from this is that Jeanise doesn’t have to worry about “Tutar” anymore. She has WORRIED about this young lady for a year.”
Now her kindness has seen some comeuppance, courtesy of Sacha’s sum.
But blessings have come, not just for the church.
Incredibly — and presumably in large part to Jeanise obviously good heart in the film — as of this writing, citizens have come together to help the loving lady to the tune of $170,857.
That’s so far, and at a time when so many Americans are out of work.
Derrick described the joy of Jeanise:
“Please consider saying thank you to Jeanise with a tangible gift. She’s unemployed right now due to Covid. Previously, she worked on a job for 32 years! She’s faithful! Please consider giving a contribution to simply to say thank you to Jeanise for being ‘A moral compass and a light shining in darkness’ in this movie.”
Not just in the movie, but in the world.
And not only is she a light, but so is every person who gave.
And they gave because we, as a nation, are good.
As we endure unprecedented turmoil, may the United States of America always be.
-ALEX
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