‘Brüno’ cut a scene involving LaToya Jackson and Michael’s phone number hours before the film’s premiere
Timing can be problematic for comedy.
Michael Jackson died in the afternoon of Thursday, June 25, 2009.
That night, the Sacha Baron Cohen/Universal Studios movie “Brüno” was scheduled to premiere in Los Angeles — with a scene involving Bruno poking fun at Michael Jackson in an interview with Jackson’s unsuspecting sister, LaToya.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the scene was included “at press screenings earlier in the week.”
The scene was removed from the premiere, however.
Director Larry Charles said at the afterparty, “We decided to take it out for tonight, and we’ll reassess before the release whether to keep it out,” according to the Reporter, which added, “On Friday, the studio confirmed the scene would be out of the theatrical version of the movie.”
In “Brüno,” Cohen portrays a fictional foreign character and lures real celebrities into what they believe are serious interviews; Cohen also stages events to draw crowds and crashes real events with celebrities.
The Reporter article says that in the encounter with LaToya Jackson, Michael Jackson’s “high-pitched voice” and “trademark white glove” are among the jokes. A Daily Telegraph account says the scene was deemed “in too poor taste.” It says, “Brüno interviews LaToya Jackson in his chic LA apartment. After getting her to sit on his ‘chairs’ — Mexican workers bending over on their hands and knees — and then serving her sushi of the hairy body of a naked man, Brüno proceeds to steal La Toya’s mobile phone so that he can copy Michael Jackson’s number.
According to The Guardian, “The offending scene features Cohen, in the guise of Brüno, attempting to find Michael Jackson’s phone number on LaToya’s BlackBerry. After Brüno reads aloud what he claims to be the singer’s number, an apparently enraged LaToya terminates the interview and storms off the set.”
The Guardian cited Universal sources as saying the decision was made “out of respect for Jackson’s family.” The Telegraph reported that the original version of the film, by that point, had “already premiered in Europe including in London, Paris and Berlin.”
For movies, controversy equals publicity and often a box-office boost. Whether news about a scene not being in a film would boost the box office seems hard to determine, but, according to the Internet Movie Database, “Brüno,” which is only 81 minutes, was a financial success, grossing $138,000,000 worldwide on an estimated $42,000,000 budget.
But chances are, the movie would’ve done better had the Jackson scene remained in. Tribune newspapers reported on June 28, 2009, days after Michael Jackson’s death, his albums “accounted for all 10” of Amazon’s “Bestsellers in Music” list.
(August 2026)
