Sacha Baron Cohen has already caused outrage before his new series Who Is America? has even been aired.

According to reports one of the people he has pranked for the show is politician Sarah Palin. Baron Cohen is reported to have posed as a wheelchair-using military veteran when he interviewd her.

Palin has posted her response on Facebook: "I join a long list of American public personalities who have fallen victim to the evil, exploitive, sick 'humour' of the British 'comedian' Sacha Baron Cohen, enabled and sponsored by CBS/Showtime....Baron Cohen (I presume) had heavily disguised himself as a disabled US Veteran, fake wheelchair and all. Out of respect for what I was led to believe would be a thoughtful discussion with someone who had served in uniform, I sat through a long 'interview' full of Hollywoodism's disrespect and sarcasm - but finally had enough and literally, physically removed my mic and walked out, much to Cohen's chagrin."

She went on to add: "The disrespect of our US military and middle-class Americans via Cohen's foreign commentaries under the guise of interview questions was perverse...Mock politicians and innocent public personalities all you want, if that lets you sleep at night, but how dare you mock those who have fought and served our country....Truly sick."

Baron Cohen has also persuaded former US Vice President Dick Cheney to sign a waterboarding kit - a jug of water.

Baron Cohen has not commented on Palin's statement. No previews of the programme have been made available to the press yet so we cannot comment on what will be shown in the programme.

The first episode of Who Is America? will air in America on July 15 and in the UK on Channel 4 at 10pm on Monday 16th July. 

More here.