'Borat' sequel fans raise over $100k for a beloved babysitter who's now unemployed due to pandemic

A 62-year-old who served as a moral compass in Sacha Baron Cohen's recently released Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is feeling the love of the internet after her genuine kind-heartedness in the film left a lasting impression on viewers. Jeanise Jones — who played the babysitter in the sequel to Baron Cohen's 2006 mockumentary, Borat — was showered with generosity following reports that she had no idea she was part of a movie and instead thought Tutar, the 15-year-old daughter of the infamous Borat character, was in real danger of being married off to an older man.

Jones, who is currently unemployed due to the pandemic, told the New York Post in an interview that she feels "betrayed" after she was led to believe she was participating in a real documentary about child brides. "I'm feeling like she's from the Third World and that kind of stuff does happen where they sell women. I'm thinking this is for real so I felt kind of betrayed by it," she said, explaining that she was recruited through a church in Oklahoma City to be featured in the satire. Jones said she was paid $3,600 to film scenes in Oklahoma and later Washington State only to discover the truth about the project when the movie trailer came out earlier this year.

In the film, Jones was tasked with watching Tutar, whom she believed to be a real 14 or 15-year-old girl. "They told me it was a documentary for this young lady to understand she has rights and she can do whatever a man can do," she said. In one scene, Jones — who had never heard of Baron Cohen — was seen assuring Tutar that she doesn't need plastic surgery to get married and that she was beautiful just the way she was. Hoping to guide the "teen" towards the right path, she also told her that she wants her to "be happy" and "use your brain because your daddy is a liar."

"I felt pain for her and tried [to see] if there’s any way we can get through to her that she doesn’t need to do all that," said Jones. According to a GoFundMe campaign set up by Jones' pastor, Derrick Scobey, the mother-of-three was worried about Tutar (played by Maria Bakalova) for a year and asked other congregants at her church to help pray for her before she found out the truth. "We were concerned," Jones said. "We were up there praying for her and asking God to help her and we were doing what we thought was the Christian thing to do."

"Jeanise Jones is a mother, grandmother, faithful church member, and just an overall great person who will help anyone. She recently emerged as the 'STAR' in the new Borat movie. She was recruited from our church the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Oklahoma City after producers spoke to me about needing a 'Black Grandmother' for a small role in a 'documentary.' Jeanise emerged as that person and she was completely unaware that this was a comedy, and all of this was made up," Scobey wrote in the fundraiser.

"We have been praying for the young lady in the movie because we all genuinely thought she was in trouble. The joke is on us/Jeanise and that's no problem. This was not scripted for Jeanise. It all came from the heart. She is one of the most authentic people I've ever met. One good thing that has come from this is that Jones doesn't have to worry about 'Tutar' anymore. She has WORRIED about this young lady for a year," he added. The GoFundMe had raised over $112k as of Thursday morning.