Alistair Leslie Graham, commonly known as Ali G, is a satirical fictional character created and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Ali G is a white, middle-class, faux-streetwise poseur from Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, England. The character speaks in rude boy–style Multicultural London English. He usually conducts interviews with unsuspecting subjects who do not realise they have been set up.
Ali G first appeared as the "voice of youth" on Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show in Autumn 1998. Subsequently, he became the title character of Da Ali G Show in the early 2000s; he was also the title character of the 2002 film Ali G Indahouse, as well as the 2026 sequel Ali G: Who Iz I? In a 2001 poll by Channel 4, Ali G was ranked eighth on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.
In a 2007 interview with The Daily Telegraph, Baron Cohen announced that Ali G, along with Borat Sagdiyev (another fictional character made by Baron Cohen), had been retired. However, Ali G returned at the 2012 British Comedy Awards to accept Baron Cohen's Outstanding Achievement Award, causing controversy by making jokes about Kate Middleton and Jimmy Savile. Ali G returned to television with Ali G Rezurection in 2014. Rezurection features new footage of Ali G introducing old highlights of Da Ali G Show, while Borat reappeared for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm in 2020.
On 14 July 2026, Sacha Baron Cohen posted a short video on social media of an Ali G interaction with a public servant. On 22 July, a follow up video was posted announcing the film Ali G: Who Iz I?, which is scheduled to release on 23 October 2026.
Development Ali G is a fictional stereotype of an English suburban male "chav" also known as Alistair; who imitates inner-city urban British hip-hop culture and British Jamaican culture, particularly through hip-hop, reggae, drum and bass, and jungle music, as well as speaking in rude boy–style Multicultural London English from Jamaican Patois. Ali G was part of a group called the "West Staines Massiv", and grew up near Staines in Langley. He also lived part of his life in Staines.
Baron Cohen has stated that BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood was an influence on the development of his character.Sacha Baron Cohen – The Real Borat – finally speaks, Rolling Stone, 14 November 2006. Westwood used to host Radio 1's Rap Show and became known for speaking in a Multicultural London English dialect. Ali G's middle-class credentials mirror Westwood's, as the latter was brought up in Lowestoft as a bishop's son. Prior to his character's first appearance on The 11 O'Clock Show, Baron Cohen had portrayed an early incarnation of him named MC Jocelyn Cheadle-Hume on a show he presented called F2F, which ran on the satellite channel Granada Talk TV. While in character, Baron Cohen chatted to a group of skateboarders and realised that people could be led to believe his character was real; he then filmed a number of segments which were ordered off-air by London Weekend Television.
History and appearances Ali G, a white middle-class, faux-streetwise poseur with a deeply stereotypical view of the world, first came to prominence on Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show as the "voice of youth" in 1998."'He becomes the character, certainly with Ali G and Borat. He has a mix of Sellers' acting and Rod Hull's bottle'" by Kirsty Scott, The Guardian, 29 September 2006. He interviewed various public figures in the United Kingdom, always either embarrassing his interviewee by displaying a mixture of uninformed political incorrectness, or getting the interviewee to agree to some shocking inaccuracy or insult.
Other examples of his bold interviewing style include getting Lindsay Urwin, the Bishop of Horsham, to admit that God created the universe and then asking him, "And since then, [God]'s just chilled?" Ali G asked the Bishop about God's appearance, to which the Bishop replied, "Well, he's sort of Jesus-shaped." During an interview with James Ferman, former director of the British Board of Film Classification, Ali G asks whether his made-up vulgarities would restrict a film to an over-18 audience, and suggests that film censorship be performed by younger persons who understand contemporary slang. In an interview with the chairman of the Arts Council of England, Gerry Robinson, Ali G's first question was, "Why is the arts so – excuse me French, but – crap?"
Ali G appeared in the 2003 short film Spyz, directed by James Bobin. It showcases Ali G as James Bond in a series of inexplicably occurring action and sex scenes. In 2004, Ali G gave the class day speech at Harvard.
Ali G was in a series of ads for the 2005–06 NBA season, in which he used his brand of off-kilter journalism to interview various NBA stars. The spots were directed by Spike Lee.
Ali G was also featured in the music video "Music" by Madonna as her limo driver. He complains that her "babylons" are not as big as they appear to be on TV and calls her "Maradona" when asking to be in her next video.
Baron Cohen received the Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2012 British Comedy Awards and appeared in character as Ali G to accept the trophy.
In 2015 Ali G appeared at the 88th Academy Awards. Baron Cohen did not tell the ceremony's producers beforehand that he would appear on stage as his Ali G character instead of himself. He and his then-wife, actress Isla Fisher, locked themselves in the bathroom for 40 minutes to secretly put on his costume, after telling people he had food poisoning.
In early July 2026, it was reported that a new Ali G movie had been filmed by Baron Cohen in secret, however no official confirmation or details were released. Later the same week Baron Cohen attended the Wimbledon Men's Singles Final and posted on social media as the character. Later that month, a sequel titled Ali G: Who Iz I? was confirmed, with Amazon MGM Studios scheduling it for a theatrical release on October 23, 2026.
Background Ali G is the leader of a fictional gang called "Da West Staines Massiv", who currently lives in his grandmother's garage in a semi-detached house at 36 Cherry Blossom Close, in the heart of the "Staines Ghetto". He was educated at what he calls "da Matthew Arnold Skool", which is a real school in Staines.
Staines, a commuter town to the west of London, is different from the inner city ghetto that Ali G claims. In the same comic vein, he also makes reference to stockbroker belt towns in the area, such as Egham, Langley and Englefield Green with which he contrasts Staines. Despite the incongruous nature of his hometown, he purports to exemplify inner city culture. Ali's full name is later revealed to be Alistair Leslie Graham (revealed in the eponymous film, much to his embarrassment).
Ali G speaks a comical patois in keeping with his delusions of being black with Jamaican ancestry and peppered with such catchphrases as "aight" or "aiii" (alright), "booyakasha", "big up yaself", "wagwaan", "west side", "batty boy", "respek", "for real", "punani", "check it", "wicked" and "keep it real". His trademark hand gesture closely resembles the "dip snap".
Criticisms Although Baron Cohen has repeatedly stated that Ali G is a parody of suburban, privileged youth acting in a way that they think is typical of black people, some commentators have opined that the force of the humour is derived from stereotypes of blacks, not poseur whites. According to this view of the character, the suburban background written into Ali G's character serves as a false alibi. The sociologist Tara Atluri observed that, by presenting as racially ambiguous, Ali G both exploits minstrel show racial stereotypes for humour and ridicules white minstrel expropriation.
The comedian Felix Dexter has said that he appreciated the humour of an innocent ignoramus confronting an expert with neither understanding the other, but felt that "a lot of the humour is laughing at black street culture and it is being celebrated because it allows the liberal middle classes to laugh at that culture in a safe context where they can retain their sense of political correctness". Fellow comedian Victoria Wood criticised Baron Cohen's style of comedy, saying that his "endless setting up of victims" was "tiresome" and akin to "laughing at lunatics".
People interviewed by Ali G
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930–), whom Ali G addresses as "Buzz Lightyear," former astronaut, and the second man to walk on the Moon: Ali asks him if he was "ever jealous of Louis Armstrong", Aldrin has to correct him and reminds him that it was in fact Neil Armstrong who landed on the Moon. Additionally, Ali G asks what will happen when a man walks on the Sun. Ali G also asks whether the "people on the Moon" were friendly or scared of Aldrin upon landing on the Moon. Ali insists that Aldrin should put conspiracy theorists straight, saying "what do you say to all of those conspiracy theorists who come up to you and say, does the Moon really exist?" He also believes that Aldrin was the first person to perform the moonwalk dance, not Michael Jackson. David Alderdice, 43rd Lord Mayor of Belfast: Ali refers to him as the "Lord Mayor of Ireland" at the beginning of the interview. He also believed that Terry Wogan was part of the IRA. John Gray, author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. David Beckham, former football player, and Victoria Beckham, a member of the Spice Girls. Tony Benn (1925–2014), former Labour MP for Chesterfield, Cabinet Minister and chairman of the Labour Party from 1971 to 1972. Benn is shocked at Ali's stubborn and cynical view of the world. During the interview, Ali expresses his view that the workers who went on strike in 1984 were lazy and pulling a "sickie", and that most people want to chill at home and watch TV instead of having to go to work. Ali suggests to Benn that celebrities and professional athletes such as Frank Bruno should become candidates, instead of barely known politicians who "probably sleep with horses". Benn wrote in his diary on the day of the interview that Ali G had, "no knowledge of history at all but... he was an intelligent guy"; on discovering that the interview was a hoax, he wrote, "it was a fraud to write and say you want to do an interview about young people and politics, then bring this chap along who is an actor and makes you look a proper charlie." Later, he wrote that Cohen had written to him to ask if he would take part in a new film he was making, saying that Benn had been the only person that he'd interviewed who had "dealt seriously with his loud, sexist, materialist image of youth". Benn refused on the grounds that, "You can't be a comedian and a serious politician." However, Benn did end his reply letter with, "You're my main man". Rhodes Boyson (1925–2012), former Conservative Education Minister, who agreed with Ali G that the metric system should not be taught in schools because, "one deals in quarters and eighths of ounces". Pat Buchanan (1938–), former White House Communications Director to President Ronald Reagan, political commentator and former presidential candidate: Ali makes an irrelevant comparison of lying to become United States President, to himself falsely claiming to work hard at McDonald's but instead admitted to Buchanan that he ate 15 McChicken sandwiches a day, sold marijuana and that he wore the costume of Ronald McDonald while having sex. During the interview, he mistakenly refers to WMD bombs as BLT sandwiches. Buchanan apparently assumes he is referring to bio-lethal toxins; but near the end, he asks Buchanan "is it ever worth fighting a war over sandwiches".