Palestinian files $110M libel suit over 'Bruno'

By BRETT ZONGKER

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Palestinian shopkeeper and father portrayed as a terrorist in the movie "Bruno" is suing film star Sacha Baron Cohen, David Letterman and others for libel and slander.

The lawsuit filed last week by Ayman Abu Aita in District of Columbia federal court seeks $110 million in damages.

In the movie, Baron Cohen plays a gay Austrian fashion journalist trying to make it big in the United States. To achieve worldwide fame, Bruno travels to the Middle East to make peace. He interviews Abu Aita, and a caption labels the Bethlehem shopkeeper as a member of the militant Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade.

Abu Aita is suing CBS and Letterman's company Worldwide Pants over an interview before the film's release where the Late Show host and Baron Cohen discussed Bruno's encounter with a "terrorist."

In the interview, Baron Cohen, 37, said he set up the meeting in the West Bank with the help of a CIA agent. Baron Cohen said he feared for his safety and interviewed the "terrorist" at a secret location chosen by Abu Aita. A clip was then played on "The Late Show with David Letterman."...

Hatem Abu Ahmad, Abu Aita's Arab-Israeli lawyer, said Baron Cohen made millions "on the back of my client."

The film drew disdain from the Israelis and Palestinians portrayed in a place Bruno calls "Middle Earth."

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