Academy denies Sacha Baron Cohen has been banned from the Oscars Sacha Baron Cohen has not been banned from attending Sunday's Oscars ceremony according to The Hollywood Reporter. Earlier reports had suggested that the Borat star had been asked not to attend, as his presence would "violate the sanctity of the ceremony." Baron Cohen had been expected to protest the ban by attending the ceremony dressed as the lead character from his forthcoming film The Dictator. The Hollywood Reporter says it has now spoken with an Academy representative who denied there was in a ban in place but added that the Academy thought it wouldn't be appropriate for Baron Cohen to hijack the red carpet in order to plug his movie. The spokesperson said: "We haven't banned him. We're just waiting to hear what he's going to do...But his tickets haven't been pulled.  This wouldn't be the first time Baron Cohen has used a major event to plug a movie. Previous publicity stunts have included arriving at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival in a cart pulled by "Kazakhstani peasant women" to promote Borat, and crash landing from a roof-harness onto rapper Eminem at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards while scantily clad as Austrian fashion reporter Bruno.