$100k crowdfund launched to compensate 'betrayed' 'Borat 2' star Jeanise Jones
Of all the dreadful people to feature in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, unwitting 62-year-old babysitter Jeanise Jones came out looking saintly by comparison.
Hired by the hapless Kazakhstani journalist to look after his daughter Tutar, played by Maria Bakalova, she provides valuable counsel to the teenager.
She advises her against cosmetic surgery and strongly opposes Borat's plan to marry her off to a wealthy, old American man.
Watch: Borat catchphrase used by Kazakhstan Tourist Board
During one exchange, she tells Tutar to 'be happy, and to 'use your brain, because your daddy is a liar'.
Now a crowdfund has been set up by Jones's pastor Derrick Scobey, with the aim of compensating her rather more than the production did (she was reportedly paid $3,600).
Read more: Anger over ‘racist’ Borat’s ridicule of Kazakhstan
Scobey says he was approached by the filmmakers, who said they needed a 'black grandmother' for a documentary film, and that ever since filming last year, the congregation had been praying for Tutar because they believed the movie to be real.
“The joke is on us/Jeanise and that’s no problem,” writes Scobey, pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.
“Many of you have reached from around the world to say thank you, so I thought it would be great to give people a vehicle to say thank you in a tangible way, She wasn’t paid much money at all for her role in this movie.
“This was not scripted for Jeanise. It all came from the heart. She is one of the most authentic people I’ve ever met. One good thing that has come from this is that Jeanise doesn’t have to worry about 'Tutar' anymore. She has WORRIED about this young lady for a year.”
Jeanise, who is a mother of three and a grandmother to six, has said in an interview with the New York Post that she felt betrayed by the filmmakers.
“I’m feeling [Tutar is] from the Third World and that kind of stuff does happen where they sell women,” she said.
Read More: Sacha Baron Cohen had to stay in character for five whole days for 'Borat 2'
“I’m thinking this is for real so I felt kind of betrayed by it…We were concerned. We were up there praying for her and asking God to help her and we were doing what we thought was the Christian thing to do.”
However, the crowdfund is now picking up pace, with – at the time of writing – over $46,000 raised of the $100,000 target.
The movie, which was filmed in secret, has proved a smash so far for Amazon, which has said has been viewed by 'tens of millions' of households worldwide, though it has not produced verified data as yet.
Watch: Giuliani calls out Borat ‘hit job’
