FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Crowds in Arkansas came for the lure of cage fighting and $1 beer, but police said two shows in June only wanted to film an audience enraged by men ripping each others' clothes off and kissing.
The June shows were hosted in Texarkana and Fort Smith. They were the sets for a new movie featuring Sacha Baron Cohen of "Borat" fame.
Texarkana police Captain Mark Lewis said a red flag went up before the June 5 show at the Four States Fair Grounds. Lewis said promoters asked for 10 plainclothes officers. Four officers ended up heading over to the event, but were asked to sign release and liability waivers. Lewis said the officers learned that they were to be plants in the audience who would try to rile the crowd.
Fair grounds president and CEO Dwight Duncan said the Texarkana show, entitled "Red, White and Blood Cage Fighting," closed down early. He said officials had no inkling of the fight night's true intention, as the fair grounds held another fight put on by the same promoter that went fine.
In Fort Smith, police Sgt. Adam Holland said 18 off-duty officers provided security. Holland said two men in the show went right up to the line of the city's morality laws. The crowd booed and threw beers according to Holland. Police said it took about 45 minutes to clear the arena.
Matt Labov, a Los Angeles-based publicist for Baron Cohen, said he had no comment Monday about the faked fights.
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