Christy Cones: Laguna Beach Art Dealer in ‘Who is America’?

Christy Cones is the Laguna Beach art dealer consultant duped by Sacha Baron Cohen in his new Showtime series ‘Who Is America?’

Cones is a real person. And she’s really a fine arts consultant in California, although the British felon bearing feces-smeared artwork to the gallery is not real. That was Cohen, wearing a somewhat awkward disguise to trick Cones into admiring art he said was made out of feces and other bodily fluids.

Here’s what you need to know:

The Series Shows Cones Admiring Cohen’s Artistic Abilities

The segment with Cones appeared in the first episode in the seven-episode satirical series, which first aired and streamed on July 15, 2018. In it, Cohen pretends to be a just-released inmate named Rick Sherman who makes artwork out of bodily fluids. The segment appears to show Christy Cones admiring the work, albeit a bit hesitantly per her body language, and then agreeing to give the character a strand of her pubic hair to add to his pubic hair paintbrush.

The rest of the show has more of a political focus, as it shows, most famously, a series of Republican politicians and gun rights advocates agreeing to promote a fake Israeli program to put guns in the hands of kindergartners. That program is supposedly called kinderguardians. The kinderguardians skit was featured in the first trailer released for the show, which you can see above.

People generally praised Christy’s demeanor in the show, with one person on Twitter calling her a “good sport.” A man wrote on the art gallery’s Facebook page, “Congratulations to Christy on being an amazingly kind, tolerant and non judgemental person. Loved the way you handled SBC – will definitely buy my art from you!”

Christy Cones Works at Coast Gallery, a Real Art Gallery

A photo of Christy Cones appears on the website of Coast Gallery, in Laguna Beach, California. On her LinkedIn page, Cones says that she’s held the position since November 2016 and is a “fine art consultant.”

The website reveals, “Coast Gallery Laguna Beach offers one of the most extensive collections of artwork anywhere around, with a wide array of artists across multiple genres and media. Most of our artists have formal training and international exhibition experience, but we also have young up and coming talent. With three decades of experience each, owner Kevin Pieropan and Gallery Director Wayne Heller are sure to help you meet all of your art needs. With multiple advanced college degrees, and several years experience in flower design, Fine Art Consultant Christy Cones (PhD) is also here to help you find that perfect work of art.”

Cones Is a PhD Student Who Says She Has a ‘Military Work Ethic’

Christy Cones

On LinkedIn, Cones defines herself as “creative, self-motivated, goal and detail-oriented, with military work ethic, unflinching determination, and diverse range of skills and experiences.”

She is a PhD candidate, an instructor, and a teaching assistant at The University of California, which she has attended since 2011. She also studied at University of California, Irvine. Her field of study was Classics and Classical Languages, Literature, and Linguistics. She attended that college from 2011-2017 and lists herself as “graduate student representative.”

She claims to speak eight foreign languages and has taken courses in sculptures and at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

Cones Was Approached by a Staffer She Thought Was From a British Reality TV Company

GettySacha Baron Cohen.

The Washington Post gives some details about how Christy Cones was ensnared in the skit. The newspaper, which describes her as “fine-art expert Christy Cones,” says she was approached at work by a staffer from a British reality TV company who said she was named Alexis.

Alexis asked if Cones would be willing to speak with a “hardened British ex-con” who was recently released from prison and wanted to speak with her about art, according to The Post. When told she was duped, Cones professed not to care, telling The Post, “Oh my God, it was all an act? He faked his tears? I don’t care. Am I supposed to say I’m embarrassed? All conversations about art are important.”

As for the pubic hair part, she told The Post, “Oh my God, I did do that! It will come around and get him. These things always come around.” She also added to The Post, however, “Sacha Baron Cohen owes me a face-to-face meeting as compensation for his underhanded tactics and his preying on the vulnerable, especially by pretending to be someone who suffered when he probably hasn’t suffered a moment in his life. That’s the least he could do after putting me through this. That, and buy a painting.”