Baron Cohen sued over Bruno gay marriage rally

A Los Angeles cameraman is suing Sacha Baron Cohen, claiminghe was roughed up during the shooting of Bruno at a gay marriage rally.

Mike Skiff filed a suit in a Los Angeles court Tuesday claiming assault and battery, violation of his civil rights and inciting a riot. He is claiming $25,000 US in damages.

At issue is the part of Bruno in which Baron Cohen, playing the gay Austrian fashion journalist, appears at a pro-gay marriage rally in Los Angeles. California was preparing for a vote on Proposition 8, which would overturnthe law allowing gay marriage.

Skiff began filming Baron Cohen after recognizing him at the event but was pulled away by Bruno crew members.

He claims he was shoved, pushed and threatened with wooden signs at the November 2008 rally.

In his statement of claim, Skiff alleges that the Bruno shoot stirred up conflict between pro and anti-gay marriage protesters to try to make the film more dramatic.

He said he had hoped to film an important event in gay history, but the opportunity was ruined by the Bruno crew.

"Bruno Productions conduct was, inescapably, an egregious affront to the homosexual community, and a despicable example of discrimination, manifested by violence, intimidation and threats," Skiff said in the statement of claim.

Baron Cohen's in-your-face comedy Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan provoked several lawsuits, though courts have sided with the comedian.

Brunois also facing legal disputes with a woman who fell at a charity bingo and a Bethlehem shopkeeper who said he was labelled a terrorist in the film.