The article claims the billboard used Cohen's popular character "Borat" with the iconic thumbs-up and the catchphrase "It's nice" to sell cannabis, which Cohen does not use because he "does not believe it is a healthy choice."
The lawsuit reads, “Without permission of any kind, the Defendants deliberately featured the portrait, picture, image, likeness, and persona of Mr. Baron Cohen and his ‘Borat’ movie character in a commercial billboard on a busy interstate highway in Massachusetts, to advertise the sale of the defendants’ cannabis products."
The suit also talks about Cohen's Judaism, claiming he does not want to be "involved" in a “heated controversy among the Orthodox Jewish community about whether cannabis can be used under Jewish traditions, customs and rules.”
A rep for Solar Therapeutics told the New York Post that the company is aware of the allegations made by Cohen, adding: “Upon receipt of the cease and desist letter from Mr. Cohen’s legal counsel Solar immediately requested that the sign company remove the billboard in question. As there is an active case before the court, we have no further comment at this time.”