America idol judge Paula Abdul has said it took her a year to realise she had been the victim of a prank when she unwittingly took part in a segment for Sacha Baron Cohen's upcoming summer film, Bruno.
It was only after she was contacted by a magazine to ask about her forthcoming cameo that the penny finally dropped for the star. "At two o'clock in the morning that night I woke up in a cold sweat, popped my body up out of bed and went, 'Oh my god.'" Paula recently revealed.
The former chart topper had agreed to an interview with a German TV crew after being told she had won an artist of the year award for her vocals. But instead the TV star came face-to-face with Sacha's flamboyant alter ego, Bruno.
"I'm greeted by this futuristic Captain Nemo-looking guy with a Mohawk, and he's flaming (mad)," she told a US radio show as she recalled the incident. "I walk in and there was no furniture except a chair. And this guy Bruno introduces himself. He snaps his fingers and says, 'Gardeners'."
"And these two Mexican guys come in, and they drop down to all fours. I see him paying them like ten bucks."
Unaware she was being set up as part of the faux documentary - which follows the format of the comedian's first hit film Borat with the gay fashion TV reporter interviewing unsuspecting participants – Paula said things started to get "uncomfortable" when the actor kicked one of the men.
As well as Paula, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ben Affleck are among the stars believed to have been caught out by Hammersmith-born Sacha in his latest film, which will be released on July 10.
