Former Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore filed a $95 million lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen and Showtime on Wednesday, alleging that he was duped into appearing on “Who Is America?” 
 
 Moore alleges that he was lured to Washington, D.C., on the pretense of accepting an award for his support for Israel. Instead, he found himself being interviewed by “Col. Erran Morad,” a Cohen character. During the taping, Cohen waved a “pedophile detector” at Moore, which beeped, at which point Moore ended the interview. 
 
 “This false and fraudulent portrayal and mocking of Judge Moore as a sex offender, on national and international television, which was widely broadcast in this district on national television and worldwide, has severely harmed Judge Moore’s reputation and caused him, Mrs. Moore, and his entire family severe emotional distress, as well as caused and will cause Plaintiffs financial damage,” the lawsuit states. 
 
 As is generally the case with Cohen’s victims, Moore signed a release before the taping took place. The suit alleges that the release was obtained on fraudulent grounds. 
 
 Moore is suing Showtime, CBS, and Cohen for fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and defamation. He is represented by Larry Klayman, the founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch. 
 
 Showtime issued the following statement: “The press has been sent copies of an alleged complaint, yet to our knowledge SHOWTIME has not been served. With that said, we do not comment on pending litigation.” 

 Of all the absurd antics on Sacha Baron Cohen’s Showtime series “Who is America?” — which took aim at figures such as O.J. Simpson and former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio — the most uncomfortable moment may have involved Roy Moore. 
 
 Moore certainly wasn’t too happy about the July 29 episode that implied that he is a pedophile. Now, he is suing Cohen, CBS and Showtime for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud. Moore seeks $95 million in punitive and compensatory damages, according to the lawsuit. 
 
 The former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice isn’t having a good year. 
 
 The Washington Post won a 2018 Pulitzer Prize for telling the stories of six women who said Moore pursued them when they were teenagers and when he was a local prosecutor in his 30s. The Post’s investigative report, published in November 2017, appeared as Moore was running for the Senate with a tweeted endorsement from President Trump, thrusting the race into the spotlight. 
 
 Though he was originally favored to win, Moore lost the December 2017 special election to the Democratic candidate Doug Jones. That probably has to do with the attention everyone began paying to Moore’s past — everyone including Cohen. 
 
 As Moore told it, he was flown to Washington, D.C., to “receive an award for my strong support of Israel. I did not know Sacha Cohen, or that a Showtime TV series was being planned to embarrass, humiliate and mock, not only Israel, but also religious conservatives such as Sarah Palin, Joe Walsh and Dick Cheney,” referring to some of the other public figures that had been duped by Cohen. 
 
 [Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest dupes? Corey Lewandowski and former sheriff David Clarke.] 
 
 When he arrived, he met with one of Cohen’s more popular characters from the series: the fake Israeli anti-terrorism expert Erran Morad. As luck would have it, Morad wanted to discuss the prevention of pedophilia, presumably an uncomfortable subject for Moore. 
 
 During a sit-down with Moore, Cohen’s Morad said that researchers found “pedophiles” secrete an enzyme at “three times the level of non-perverts” and that Israel “developed a machine that is used in schools and playgrounds to detect anyone coming in.” 
 
 He showed Moore a wand and said it would beep when waved over a sex offender. Before demonstrating the machinery, he told Moore, “It is very, very simple to use. You just switch it on, and because neither of us are sex offenders, then it makes absolutely nothing.” 
 
 As Cohen fans might expect, the wand beeped each time he waved the wand over Moore. The gag continued for several excruciating minutes, as a faux confused Cohen-as-Morad tried to “figure out” the problem. 
 
 “It must be faulty. It’s malfunctioning,” Cohen said. “Is this your jacket? Did you lend the jacket to somebody else?” 
 
 “No,” Moore responded. “I’ve been married for 33 [years]. I’ve never had an accusation of such things. … If this is an instrument — certainly, I’m not a pedophile.” 
 
 “But the machine, the machine works,” Cohen insisted. 
 
 Eventually, Moore ended the interview. “I am simply cutting this conversation right now,” he said. “Good night. I support Israel. I don’t support this kind of stuff.” 
 
 [Sarah Palin flew across the country to talk about veterans. It was a Sacha Baron Cohen prank.] 
 
 The lawsuit claims Moore “suffered extreme emotional distress” for “being falsely portrayed as a sex offender and pedophile.” 
 
 “Sacha Baron Cohen, who is not only low class but also a fraudster, will now, along with Showtime and CBS, be held accountable for his outrageous and false, fraudulent and defamatory conduct which callously did great emotional and other damage to this great man and his wife and family,” Larry Klayman, who founded the conservative group Freedom Watch that is representing Moore in the case, told the Associated Press in a statement. 
 
 Representatives for Cohen have not responded to several media outlets’ request for comment. Showtime, meanwhile, has told several outlets that the network does not comment on pending litigation and isn’t aware of having been served with a lawsuit. 

 Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore announced today he was duped by comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen in his upcoming Showtime series, "Who Is America?" 
 
 Moore, a Republican who lost a special election for U.S. senate last year to Democrat Doug Jones, released a statement today with details of how he was fooled. 
 
 "In February 2018, I was invited to Washington D. C. to receive an award for my strong support of Israel in commemoration of her 70th anniversary as a nation," Moore said. "Because Alabama has always been at the forefront of support of Israel and because I share a strong belief in God as the Creator and Sustainer of all life, as does Israel, I eventually accepted the invitation. Expenses were paid, and I received no private remuneration for my time or participation. I did not know Sacha Cohen or that a Showtime TV series was being planned to embarrass, humiliate, and mock not only Israel, but also religious conservatives such as Sarah Palin, Joe Walsh, and Dick Cheney. 
 
 "I do not apologize for my belief in God or the common religious and cultural heritage that Israel shares with America. 
 
 "As an Alabamian, I believe in truth and honesty, which the shadowy media groups behind this illicit scheme do not. Obviously, people like Cohen who mock not only Israel but those who support Israel and the principles upon which America is based, do not share my beliefs. 
 
 "I don't need Sacha Cohen to tell me who America is, but I can tell him that America is a proud Nation which sprang from humble beginnings and a strong belief in God, virtue, and morality. 
 
 "As an American, I would never hide my identity and deceive others only to mock and ridicule them as this Showtime Series is designed to do. America is not only about being proud but about being brave and standing for what we believe. 
 
 "I am involved in several court cases presently to defend my honor and character against vicious false political attacks by liberals like Cohen. If Showtime airs a defamatory attack on my character, I may very well be involved in another. As for Mr. Cohen, whose art is trickery, deception, and dishonesty, Alabama does not respect cowards who exhibit such traits! It's been a long time since I fought for my country in Vietnam. I'm ready to defend her again!" 
 
 Alabamians have been spoofed before numerous times by Baron Cohen on his earlier TV comedy program "Da Ali G Show" and in movies including "Borat" and "Bruno." 
 
 For the satirical half-hour Showtime series that debuts this Sunday night, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former Vice President Dick Cheney and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders were also duped. 
 
 In the first episode, Cheney is asked by Baron Cohen in a "Borat" voice to autograph a jug of water described as a "waterboard kit," and he agrees. "That's a first," Cheney says.
– Roy Moore has made good on his threat to sue Sacha Baron Cohen and Showtime over his appearance on Who Is America. The former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and failed US Senate candidate is seeking $95 million, Variety reports, saying he was tricked into appearing on the show. "This false and fraudulent portrayal and mocking of Judge Moore as a sex offender … has severely harmed Judge Moore's reputation," the suit says. On the episode featuring Moore, Cohen pretended to be an Israeli anti-terrorism expert named Erran Morad, per the Washington Post. The topic of discussion: "prevention of pedophilia, presumably an uncomfortable subject for Moore," whose Senate campaign was dogged by allegations of past inappropriate behavior with teenage girls. During the segment, Cohen waves a purported sex-offender detection wand over Moore that beeps repeatedly. In a July statement, Moore said that he had agreed to be on the show under the pretense that he would be receiving an award "for my strong support of Israel," AL.com reported at that time. He also threatened to sue Cohen and Showtime should the segment air, which it ultimately did. "I am involved in several court cases presently to defend my honor and character against vicious false political attacks by liberals like Cohen," Moore said. Moore did sign a release to be on the show, but, per the suit, his consent was obtained fraudulently. Showtime tells Variety that it hasn't been served and does not comment on pending litigation.