The Borat 2 star, Maria Bakalova, may have played the fictional character of Tutar in the sequel to Sacha Baron Cohen, but she had a huge influence on another star of the film, Jeanise Jones, who has just such a had a strong impact on her.
Bakalova, 24, who became a true Oscar contender for her performance as Borat’s daughter, spoke to The Los Angeles Times and revealed that they have reconnected with Thanksgiving.
The Bulgarian-born actress and model calls the 62-year-old Jones from Oklahoma City a ‘true angel’ while revealing the impact Jones had on her.
Impact: Borat 2-star Maria Bakalova may have played the fictional character of Tutar in the sequel to Sacha Baron Cohen, but she had a huge influence on another star of the film, Jeanise Jones, who had just as strong an impact had on her
Oscar contender: Bakalova, 24, who became a true Oscar contender for her performance as Borat’s daughter, spoke to The Los Angeles Times and revealed that they are reunited over Thanksgiving
‘I will probably always think of her as my godmother, a true hero and life coach. “She just wanted to help this girl become a strong woman,” Bakalova said.
She added that they were ‘a true human commitment from the first day we met’, adding: ‘I called her on Thanksgiving: it was my first American Thanksgiving and was also my best.
‘I was so happy to talk to her that I started crying. “When we shot, it was very difficult for me because I wanted to tell her not to worry about me,” Bakalova said.
Life Coach: ‘I will probably always think of her as my godmother, a true hero and life coach. “She just wanted to help this girl become a strong woman,” Bakalova said.
“She is a very good example of how important it is to be a good person and to care for others,” Bakalova added.
A few days after the film was released on Amazon Prime Video in late October, Jones said in an interview with The New York Post that she felt “betrayed” that Tutar’s situation was fictitious.
‘I feel like she’s from the Third World, and such things do happen where they sell women. “I think it’s real, so I feel so betrayed,” Jones said.
Betrayed: Just days after the film was released on Amazon Prime Video in late October, Jones said in an interview with The New York Post that she felt ‘betrayed’ that Tutar’s situation was fictitious.
Baron Cohen would eventually donate $ 100,000 to the Oklahoma City community, Jones is part of what will be distributed by Jones at her request, the Ebenezer Baptist Church.
The funds were set aside for shelter, food and any other needs the community has, while Jones herself saw an outpouring of support coming her way.
Jones’ Ebenezer Baptist Church pastor, Derrick Scobey, set up a GoFundMe to help her as she lost her 32-year job due to COVID-19.
Donation: Baron Cohen himself will eventually donate $ 100,000 to the Oklahoma City community, Jones is a part of, which will be distributed at Jones’ request by her church, the Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Fans raised more than $ 184,000 for Jones in just over two months, almost twice the original $ 100,000 goal.
Bakalova was recently upgraded to the lead actress category for the Golden Globes, after being inducted into the supporting actress category.
Nominations for the 78th annual Golden Globes will be announced on February 3rd.
Lead Actress: Bakalova was recently upgraded to the lead actress category for the Golden Globes, after being submitted to the supporting actress category.