Arpaio, currently running for a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, said that during the interview he became "very uncomfortable" with some of the words that Cohen's character allegedly used, including "blowjob," "hand job" and "golden shower." He said he was made to believe the interview was being filmed live and that 2 million people were watching.

Arpaio says that just prior to the interview, two alleged producers mentioned that they were also interviewing Sarah Palin and claimed that they "love" President Trump, as did Cohen's character.  In a lengthy Facebook post, Palin revealed that she was interviewed by Cohen, who she alleged disguised himself as a disabled U.S. veteran. Cohen's Showtime character, going by the name of Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr, Ph.D, replied in character on Twitter, claiming that he "was in the service — not military, but United Parcel, and I only fought for my country once — when I shot a Mexican who came onto my property."

Arpaio said the entire episode made him so uneasy that he took the unusual step of typing notes documenting the events. "Something told me I had better document this," he said. "So, I typed those notes real fast." Arpaio shared his notes with Breitbart News.

Arpaio said the saga began when he was contacted in the Fall of 2017 by two purported producers going by the names of Phil Simon and Corey Fielder. He said they told him that they were associated with a feature being sold to Showtime and that the show selected him as one of the twenty "most popular" people in America.  He was told that he would be interviewed by a famous Finnish comedian.