The breakout star of Borat 2, Maria Bakalova, has opened up about her controversial scene alongside Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
In the long-awaited sequel, Bakolova plays Borat's 15-year-old daughter, Tutar, who the Kazakh journalist attempts to gift to Giuliani.
Now, in a new interview, the 24-year-old actress has explained that what happens in the movie is exactly how the scene played out.
The controversial scene took place after Bakolova posed as a journalist in order to interview Giuliani, eventually inviting him back to her hotel room for a drink.
After removing the former mayor's microphone, he was filmed lying back on the bed, "fiddling with his untucked shirt and reaching into his trousers", before Cohen bursts into the room and says: "She’s 15. She’s too old for you."
Giuliani was also filmed touching Bakolova during the interview.
Borat comments on Rudy Giuliani's "innocent sexytime encounter":In an interview with IndieWire, Bakalova said: "I tried to believe I was this character, who was doing everything to save her father.
"As Maria, I was doing everything to save the scene. I was using what I was given as a resource."
She then explained that what happened, in reality, was exactly what happened in the controversial scene: "I saw what you saw. He touched me first."
She added: "I was quite confident that I had to do the scene. I'm not an American. I've only been here for a year. But I'm an actress, and I had a duty."
As per the Metro, Giuliani, 76, told WABC in a radio interview at the time of the movie's release: "I had to take off the electronic equipment and when the electronic equipment came off, some of it was in the back and my shirt came a little out, although my clothes were entirely on.
"I leaned back, and I tucked my shirt in, and at that point, at that point, they have this picture they take which looks doctored, but in any event, I'm tucking my shirt in. I assure you that's all I was doing."
Giuliani has categorically denied any wrongdoing on his part, tweeting to his 1.2 million followers:
"At no time before, during, or after the interview was I ever inappropriate. If Sacha Baron Cohen implies otherwise he is a stone-cold liar.
"This is an effort to blunt my relentless exposure of the criminality and depravity of Joe Biden and his entire family."
Giuliani also went on to claim that he contacted the police as soon as he knew that he'd been set-up by Cohen, adding that the scene is "complete fabrication" and that he was simply "tucking in [his] shirt."
In an interview with The New York Times, the Bulgarian actress provided more insight into the scene, stating that Sacha Baron Cohen and her prepared and blocked the scene beforehand.
"We’d been talking a lot about different scenarios. How should I act, this way or this way? What should I do? What is smarter?
"But in all of the scenarios, I was confident that Sacha will save me and he will save the scene, so it’s not going to be a disaster. He’s my guardian angel."
When asked if she was nervous about filming the scene, Bakalova continued: "I was nervous. My heart was racing. But Sacha was like: 'you should be nervous in this situation. So use your nerves. Convert them and accept them and they’re going to help you through everything.'"
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