Comedian Sasha Baron Cohen has escaped a near-riot at an American rodeo while filming his satirical "Da Ali G Show."

According to a report in the Roanoke (Virginia) Times, a man who was introduced as Boraq Sagdiyev from Kazakhstan -- in reality a Cohen character named Borat -- appeared at the rodeo over the weekend after organisers agreed to have him sing the national anthem.

After telling the crowd he supported America's war on terrorism, he said, "I hope you kill every man, woman and child in Iraq, down to the lizards ... And may George W. Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq." He then sang a garbled version of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

The Roanoke Times reported that the crowd turned "downright nasty." One observer said "If he had been out there a minute longer, I think somebody would have shot him."

Cohen and his film crew were escorted out of the Salem Civic Center and told to leave the premises.

"Had we not gotten them out of there, there would have been a riot," rodeo producer Bobby Rowe told the paper. "They loaded up the van and they screeched out of there."

It is not the first time Cohen has wooed controversy with his show, which airs on Channel 4 in the UK and on HBO in the United States. In one episode last year, Borat sang an anti-Semitic song called "Throw the Jew Down the Well" at a U.S. country music bar, prompting protests from the U.S-based Anti-Defamation League.

Producers of the Ali G show, Talkback Thames, were unavailable for comment.

This Man's A Nutter

not as good as when on the show he sang a song where he got the whole crowd to sing along singing "throw the jew down the well"
he is a nutter but a funny 1
"instead of using dogs in the police why not use a smarter animal, like a dolphin?"

This really doesnt come as surprise as he is always participating and creating controversial events like this. Either way, he is right next to Chapelle in my opinion as the funniest man in the world right now. I hope this comes out in the third season.

This is hilarious!! I love that show, the man is a complete nut, but a genius! I mean, the only thing that's planned is the main idea... all the rest of the dialogue is completely improv! He is really quick. That's not easy to do, ya know? And I love that he's always pushing the boundaries farther than you'd ever imagine. And there's nothing better than his awkward pauses that last a good 5 minutes. You think it'll be over soon, but he still stays there, staring at the other guy or whatever.

You know, if his nauseating British ghetto accent didn't put me off, I would love this show. This is funny. I think I'll start watching his show.

He dresses even funnier than he acts.

I love him, I think he's great.

Has anybody seen his film.That is so funny

I hate that disrespectful idiot. I never thought he was funny, but disrespecting the National Anthem that way pisses me off and I think thatshould be a federal crime. Too bad somebody didn't shoot him.

And Sasha is a girl's name.

Classy comment.

I'm afraid not. And it wasn't meant to be. Some ass acts trashes the anthem that way that so many people have died to preserve, really pisses me off. And I'd take a roach like that getting shot over him disrespecting the Anthem and the country it represents.

Sasha is a guy's name. So is Mischa, contrary to popular belief in the U.S.