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Borat sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm just hit Amazon Prime last Friday and is already one of the most discussed movies of the year due largely to how funny it is seeing the fictional character interact with unsuspecting people.
Jeanise Jones is the babysitter featured in the film who watched Borat's daughter, Tutar. Jones ended up giving her some fantastic advice on the power of self-worth and just how wrong Borat's teachings on women's abilities really are. Initially, many outlets were reporting that the babysitter felt "betrayed" by Sacha Baron Cohen and the rest of the production crew for misleading her. Jones told Variety this is absolutely not the case. Instead, she says she simply feels a bit underpaid for her part.
Because of this, fans of the film started a GoFundMe that has already raised over $75,000 for her!
The babysitter got her role in the film after casting agents came to her church in Oklahoma looking for "grandma types" for what they said was a documentary on foreign girl learning about the U.S. Filming ended up taking place in a house the production rented out in Washington. According to Jones, she was paid about $3,400 for her part. She also said filming took a little over an hour. In her interview, Jones emphasized that she still doesn't feel betrayed by Baron Cohen, but does think she should have made more than $3,400. Fair enough!
Scott's take - While extras in the background of movies may make minimum wage, speaking roles (especially featured speaking roles like Jones' as the babysitter) tend to pay out a good deal more. Jones was one of the best parts of the movie and is being a good sport about being tricked into starring in a Borat film, so I would give her a little more if possible. That said, $3,400 for less than 2 hours of filming is a VERY good deal and while she did not confirm it, the production team very likely paid for her hotel and travel to Washington to film. I'd still pay her a bit more though since she was so great.