Jeanise Jones, who starred as a babysitter to Borat's (Sacha Baron Cohen) daughter Tutar (Maria Bakalova) in Borat 2, is currently at the center of a new GoFundMe page set up to help her.
According to Jones, she had no idea she was a part of a Borat movie. She thought she was participating in a documentary about child brides.
"Yes it was me in the Borat movie," Jones wrote on Facebook. "I was recruited to be in a 'Documentary'. At ABSOLUTELY NO time did I know this was a satirical comedy movie and that I was being 'setup' so to speak."
In an interview with the New York Post, Jones explained how she thought Tutar, played by Maria Bakalova, was a real 15-year-old girl in danger of being married off to an older man.
"We were concerned," Jones told the New York Post after filming her scenes. "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."
“I’m feeling like she’s from the Third World and that kind of stuff does happen where they sell women. I’m thinking this is for real so I felt kind of betrayed by it,” she added. Jones revealed that she was paid $3,600 to film scenes in Oklahoma and later Washington State
She later learned it was all a ruse when her cousin showed her the movie's trailer.
According to the report, Jones was founded through pastor, Derrick Scobey, who said that the production approached Ebenezer Baptist Church about needing a “sassy” black grandmother in her 70s to participate in a documentary.
Scobey who set up the GoFundMe page explained how Jones had been laid off from her job as an insurance claims auditor due to COVID-19.
"This was not scripted for Jeanise. It all came from the heart," Scobey wrote. "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."
The GoFundMe has raised over $105,545 and counting as of October 29 afternoon. Borat's sequel titled Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video UK.
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