Craven Hollywood Spoilsports Ban Sacha Baron Cohen's Saddam-Gaddafi Character From Sunday's Oscars

From the Guardian:

Sacha Baron Cohen has reportedly been banned from Sunday's Oscars over his plan to appear as the Dictator, his latest alter ego and the subject of a forthcoming film.

The Deadline blog says the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has pulled Cohen's tickets for the event until it receives a promise that he will not turn up in character as the Saddam Hussein/Muammar Gaddafi-style autocrat. "Unless they're assured that nothing entertaining is going to happen on the red carpet, the Academy is not admitting Sacha Baron Cohen to the show," studio Paramount told the site.

Oscars organisers later denied they had imposed an outright ban on Cohen. "We haven't banned him," an Academy spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. "We're just waiting to hear what he's going to do."

Drat! I'd have given anything to have the pre-show TV gushers ask who he's wearing and hear him reply: "Why, Boss, of course."