Amazon Studios An Oklahoma pastor is raising money for Jeanise Jones, the beloved grandmother who appears in Borat 2.
Derrick Scobey is the pastor at Jones’ church in Oklahoma City and recommended her for the film after he was approached by producers looking for a “Black grandmother” to take part in what they called a “documentary.”
Jones’ appearance is regarded as a highlight in the film as she acts as a mentor to Borat’s daughter, Tutar, portrayed by Maria Bakalova. In one scene, Jones advises Tutar not get plastic surgery at her father’s recommendation so he can marry her off to an American man, instead encouraging her that she is beautiful just as she is.
Scobey has since organized a GoFundMe for Jones, who worked as an insurance claims auditor for 32 years before she was recently laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This was not scripted for Jeanise. It all came from the heart. She is one of the most authentic people I’ve ever met,” Scobey writes on GoFund Me.
The fund has currently raised more than $60,000 dollars of its $100,000 goal, with 2,500 donors contributing.
For her part, Jones — who was paid $3,600 for her appearance in Borat 2, according to the New York Post — says she wasn’t aware that she was taking part in a movie comedy. She says she was told that it was a documentary about a young woman learning about her rights as a woman, and initially thought that Tutar was a child bride.
She told the Post she felt “betrayed” by film, but then told Variety otherwise.
“I’m not ever going to say I was betrayed because it was partially my fault I didn’t read the contracts,” she said to Variety. “I’ll take my responsibility on that.”
By Cillea Houghton
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