Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Maria Bakalova is weighing in on her Borat Subsequent Movie scene with Rudy Giuliani.
The 24-year-old Bulgarian actress reflected on her controversial scene with Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City and an attorney for president Donald Trump, during Wednesday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Bakalova played Tutar Sagdiyev, the daughter of Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen), in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, which premiered in October. In one scene, Tutar (Bakalova) interviews Giuliani, who is unaware he is being filmed by the Borat team.
After the interview, Giuliani and Bakalova's Tutar move into the bedroom of a hotel suite. Giuliani is seen asking for Tutar's phone number and address, patting Tutar on the back and lying down with his hand in his pants before Cohen's Borat bursts in the room.
On Ellen, Bakalova said filming the scene with Giuliani was a "nerve-wracking" experience.
"I do have to admit that I prepared myself really hard to know every single detail of his life and be his biggest fan," she said.
Bakalova said her takeaway from the scene was the importance of how people treat each other.
"And for me, as not American person, it wasn't about the political situation. It was more about, again, how we treat each other," the actress said. "The more I'm thinking about, it's not even about how old he is, what is his position. It's about how he treated me."
"I'm thinking about, would he behaved the same way if I was a man journalist? Would have he been coming with me in the bedroom, or drinking, or laughing this way?" she added. "I don't know."
Giuliani defended himself in a series of tweets in October after many criticized his behavior in the scene.
"The Borat video is a complete fabrication. I was tucking in my shirt after taking off the recording equipment," he wrote. "At no time before, during or after the interview was I ever inappropriate. If Sacha Baron Cohen implies otherwise he is a stone-cold liar."
Bakalova previously said on The Late Late Show with James Corden in November that her "heart was racing" as she filmed the scene with Giuliani.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is nominated for three awards at the Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Bakalova is nominated for a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of Tutar.
