© 2026 ABC News

The video has been viewed on YouTube more than 3.8 million times since it was published on July 29.

According to the lawsuit, Cohen, \"while in character, falsely and fraudulently induces unsuspecting victims, such as Judge Moore to be interviewed under dishonest, unethical, illegal and false pretenses.\"

In addition, the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud by the defendant and that Cohen sets the \"unsuspecting victims up for ridicule\" to promote his work and \"to generate large financial returns for himself.\"

Moore's wife, Kayla Moore, is also listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Cohen \"fraudulently\" convinced Moore and his wife to travel to Washington, D.C., to film the show on Feb. 14 by telling them that Moore was to receive an award for \"his strong support of Israel in commemoration of its 70th anniversary as a nation state,\" the court documents state.

Cohen also told the couple that the piece would appear on \"Yerushalayim TV,\" a network that doesn't exist, according to the lawsuit.

Moore would not have agreed to the interview had he known Cohen's true identity and that it was a set-up, the complaint states.

After Moore discovered the truth, his attorney sent warnings to Cohen, Showtime and CBS that he would \"resort to appropriate legal remedies if they chose to air the segment,\" according to the complaint.

The lawsuit contends that Cohen \"falsely painted, portrayed, mocked and with malice defamed Judge Moore as a sex offender, which he is not.\" The couple filed the lawsuit because \"they have been directly affected by the unlawful conduct\" stated in the complaint, according to the court documents.

Moore has been the subject of \"widespread ridicule and humiliation and has suffered severe loss of reputation\" as a result of the show, according to the court documents.

Moore is suing for damages of $95 million and has asked for as a jury trial.

Showtime has not been served with the complaint, a spokesperson told ABC News, declining to comment further on the pending litigation.

Representatives for Cohen and CBS did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. CBS is the parent company of Showtime.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin also appeared on the show, slamming the prank in which Cohen appeared as a disabled U.S. veteran in a wheelchair as \"evil\" and \"sick.\"

\"PHOTO:
Brynn Anderson/AP, FILE
PHOTO: Former Alabama Chief Justice and Senate candidate Roy Moore speaks at a campaign rally, in Fairhope Ala., Dec. 5, 2017.
>

Moore ran for the U.S. Senate as a Republican in 2017, despite sexual misconduct allegations by at least eight women, some of whom claim they were in their teens -- and Moore in his 30s -- when the misconduct occurred. Moore denied the allegations throughout the race.

Moore's Democrat opponent, Doug Jones, won the election and was sworn in as senator in January.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/US/roy-moore-sues-sasha-baron-cohen-defamation-prank/story?id=57626787","legacySlug":"/news/story/roy-moore-sues-sasha-baron-cohen-defamation-prank-57626787","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"22:16","publishDate":"09-05-2018","updatedTime":"20:07","updatedDate":"09-06-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"Former Alabama Chief Justice and U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore speaks at a campaign rally, Dec. 5, 2017, in Fairhope, Ala.","credit":"Brynn Anderson/AP, FILE","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/roy-moore-01-ap-mt-180905_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"9/5/2018 22:16:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":57626787,"headline":"Roy Moore sues Sacha Baron Cohen over TV prank","mediaAssetTitle":"jacobo_roy moore lawsuit_180905","description":"The comedian alluded in the show that Roy Moore was a sexual offender.","duration":"0:33","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/09/180906_wabc_moore_lawsuit_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["133741861","133707237","133144263"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"June 10, 2026","headline":"NASA unveils Artemis III crew","section":"News","slug":"/video/133741861","id":"133741861","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: NASA unveils Artemis III crew","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: NASA unveils Artemis III crew","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"June 9, 2026","headline":"Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","section":"News","slug":"/video/133707237","id":"133707237","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"May 20, 2026","headline":"Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","section":"News","slug":"/video/133144263","id":"133144263","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Roy Moore sues Sacha Baron Cohen over TV prank","description":"The comedian alluded in the show that Roy Moore was a sexual offender.","duration":"0:33","uploadDate":"09-05-2018","publication":"09-05-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/09/180906_wabc_moore_lawsuit_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/09/180906_wabc_moore_lawsuit_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/roy-moore-sues-sasha-baron-cohen-defamation-prank-57626787"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133882828","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810954","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133779647","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810835","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133749799","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133777519","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133748258","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Roy Moore sues Sacha Baron Cohen over TV prank","pubTime":"18:16","pubDate":"09-05-2018","modTime":"16:07","modDate":"09-06-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":57626787,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Roy Moore sues Sacha Baron Cohen over TV prank","mediaAssetTitle":"jacobo_roy moore lawsuit_180905","videoId":57626787,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/roy-moore-sues-sasha-baron-cohen-defamation-prank-57626787"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/57626787","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/57626787","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};