Georgia politician pranked by Sacha Baron Cohen resigns

(Image credit: Showtime via AP)

published 25 July 2018

Georgia state Rep. Jason Spencer (R) has resigned, after being pressured to step down following his appearance on Sacha Baron Cohen's new show, Who is America?

The office of Georgia House Speaker David Ralston made the announcement late Tuesday, and said Spencer will step down at the end of July. The episode featuring Spencer aired Sunday night, with Cohen telling Spencer he is an Israeli military expert who would teach him techniques for a counterterrorism video. Spencer ended up dropping his pants, pulling down his underwear, and yelling racial slurs.

After the episode aired, Spencer apologized and called it "ridiculously ugly," but refused to step down, saying the show "took advantage of my paralyzing fear that my family would be attacked." In May, Spencer lost the Republican primary, but would have remained in office until after the November election; the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that had he stayed on through January, it would have given Spencer eight years of service, making him eligible for taxpayer-subsidized health insurance for life.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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