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In a teaser for Sasha Baron Cohen’s new Showtime series Who Is America? released earlier this month, Cohen — in character — can be heard asking former Vice President Dick Cheney to sign his “waterboard kit.”
Cheney is seen signing something and then jokes, “That’s the first time I’ve ever signed a waterboard.”
Now, that waterboard kit could be yours.
The Cheney moment aired during the second episode and ahead of its Sunday night debut, the item had gone up for sale on eBay. With 63 bids, the item stood at $2,551 around 5:50 p.m. PT Sunday after going on sale for $1 the night before.
The auction will benefit Amnesty International and was set to run until Tuesday morning at 10:41 a.m. PT.
By Monday morning, however, the item had been taken down. A spokesperson from eBay told THR in a statement that “due to unusual bidding activity and the seller being new to eBay, this listing was removed based on our risk models. We’ve been in contact with the seller to assist in re-listing the item if they so choose.”
The following day, on Tuesday, the item was back up on eBay with an extended sale until Thursday at 4:12 p.m. PT. The bid on Tuesday afternoon had risen to $3,552. There were 78 bids and counting.
The new description was written from Baron Cohen character Col. Erran Morad, the Israeli terrorism expert who interviewed Cheney on the satire series. Baron Cohen has also launched a Twitter account for the character and had shared the item.
The current description reads:
Boker Tov, my name Colonel Erran Morad.
Here is a rare opportunity to own a military grade WATER BOTTLE SIGNED BY American war hero, VICE-PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY.
Please bid freely, all proceeds from the sale will go to AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL.
Comes with…
– Complimentary towel
– Zero (0) scruples
The original description of the item, also written by the character Morad, had read as follows:
Here is a rare opportunity to own a WATER BOARD BOTTLE SIGNED BY the Godfather of the sport – American war hero and all-round mensch, VICE-PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY.
Unlike the cheap domestic water board kits you can buy on Amazon, this is a professional grade piece of military hardware. Fully functioning, it have seen many hours active use by me, both on the frontline of the War on Terror and also in my own home, where it has proved very effective at keeping my son, Eyal, in line. Indeed, if you too live in a bungalow, water boarding is a great alternative to the “naughty step.”
The bottle is made from Military Grade High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), meaning that as well as Water Boarding, it can also be used to Dr. Pepper Board, Clorox Board or even Urine Board potential terrorists or annoying neighbors.
Please bid freely, not only will you get a fully operational torture, I mean interrogation device, all proceeds from the sale will go to AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL.
Watch the teaser below.
Related Stories
July 23, 3 p.m. Updated with eBay statement.
July 24, 2:45 p.m. Updated with re-listed litem.
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