Sacha Baron Cohen Mistakes Satirical Lushsux Street Art For Misinformation

For nearly 30 years, Sacha Baron Cohen, known for his characters Borat, Ali G and for once getting Dick Cheney to sign a waterboarding kit, has reigned as one of western culture's foremost satirists. His gonzo, no-holds-barred approach to filmmaking and acting made headlines all last year. His latest ‌Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was a hit for Amazon and partly responsible for the near-complete unraveling of Rudy Giuliani last fall.

But even a comedic master can have an off day.

Earlier this week, Cohen found himself a surprising enemy in the satirical street artist Lushsux. Known for his shitpost-adjacent murals, Lushsux gained worldwide infamy for works that criticize and mock politicians, business leaders and the world's most powerful people. However, when Cohen came across one of Lushsux's pieces on Instagram, he couldn't help but speak out.

"Mark Zuckerberg, how do you sleep at night?" Cohen tweeted above a picture of Lushsux's Bill Gates piece, which depicts the Microsoft founder surrounded by flames and holding a vaccine with the cryptic warning, "Time to install your update."

"This is on Facebook's Instagram right now.Your algorithms are STILL recommending lies about Covid and vaccines. How many people have to die before you act?!"

Mark Zuckerberg, how do you sleep at night?

This is on Facebook's Instagram right now.

Your algorithms are STILL recommending lies about Covid and vaccines.

How many people have to die before you act?!#StopDeathForProfit

New Report: https://t.co/kMqvnPfdUN pic.twitter.com/Z6Rkg7G2nZ

— Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) March 9, 2021

The mural references and mocks the Bill Gates coronavirus conspiracies that have popped up in the last year. These theories allege that Gates' funding of vaccine programs are part of a massive micro-chip surveillance initiative so that Gates can track citizens for some reason. It would appear that Cohen mistook Lushsux's work for a piece of anti-vaxx messaging.

Lushsux didn't appreciate Cohen's claim that his artwork was misinformation and responded to the actor by calling him a "dork."

hey its a joke piece you dork

— lushsux (lushsux) March 9, 2021

Throughout the day, Lushsux continued to mock Cohen on social media. "The guy who does satire for a living couldn't spot a satire," he tweeted.

funny how the guy who does satire for a living couldnt spot a satire ahahahahahhahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahahjahahahshabahshahahabbabababbahah

— lushsux (lushsux) March 9, 2021

Two days later, he posted a new mural, setting his sights directly on Cohen, posting a new piece about the comedian.

VARY NICE SACHA WEEK WA WA WEE WA MY WIFE SAY IN MY COUNTRY THERE A NO FREE SPEECH, GREAT SUCCESS pic.twitter.com/vDGyG0TP5B

— lushsux (lushsux) March 11, 2021

The situation made Cohen look a bit out of touch. Fans of Lushsux taunted the Academy Award-nominated satirist on his Twitter, with the most damning coming from YouTuber Justin Whang, who posted a Wombo video of the Bill Gates mural singing "Chug Jug With You". Just brutal.

pic.twitter.com/Wv0SSgz2RT

— Justin Whang 🐙 (@JustinWhang) March 9, 2021