Sacha Baron Cohen spills "ashes" on Ryan Seacrest at Academy Awards
(CBS) "The Dictator" has arrived at the Oscars.
Sacha Baron Cohen walked the Academy Awards red carpet in character on Sunday as the titular character from his upcoming film.
Pictures: Oscars red carpet arrivals
Special section: The 84th Academy Awards
The British comedian, as General Aladeen, was accompanied by two women in military dress and carried an urn that he claimed contained the ashes of his "dear friend" North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il.
"It was his dream to come to the Oscars and to be sprinkled over the red carpet," the despot said, before spilling the urn's contents onto E! host Ryan Seacrest's tuxedo.
"If someone asks what you are wearing, tell them Kim Jong Il," Cohan-as-Aladeen said, according to Deadline.
Seacrest looked shaken as he attempted to dust himself off after the incident.
"Anything can happen and it most certainly did, all over my lapel," the TV personality said.
He later tweeted, "My mom always told me to pack two jackets for red carpets, always wondered why. Now I know."Academy Awards organizers initially made it clear they did not want Cohen to promote his film by arriving in character, but there was an apparent change of heart in the days before the show.
"We're thrilled to have him and he'll be on the red carpet dressed as 'The Dictator,'" Oscars producer Brian Grazer told "Extra" on Friday.
