Ryan Seacrest has brushed off Sacha Baron Cohen's Dictator stunt at the Oscars - which saw him covered in 'the ashes of Kim Jong il' at the most glamorous event of the year.
Ryan was presenting live from the red carpet for E! when Sacha, dressed as a character from his latest film The Dictator, approached.
Holding a gold urn which he claimed contained the ashes of the late North Korean dictator, Sacha told Ryan: "I love it here because it gave me an opportunity to bring my dear friend and tennis partner, Kim Jong-il."
He then flipped the urn over to show off something on the bottom, covering Ryan's tuxedo with the 'ashes' in the process.
Sacha quipped: "'Now when people ask what you're wearing, you will say Kim Jong-il!"
An apparently stunned Ryan then told his co-presenter Giuliana Rancic: "Part of me thought he'd be up to something Giuliana. I had an idea something was coming, I didn't know what fashion or form."
It was later revealed that the 'ashes' were actually pancake mix, and Ryan brushed off the incident by tweeting: "A lot of people hitting up afterparties tonight... me? I'm hosting a pancake breakfast tomorrow.
"My mom always told me to pack two jackets for red carpets, always wondered why. Now I know."
Sacha had previously been banned from attending the red carpet as the character General Aladeen, but show bosses eventually relented.
It's not the first time the comedian has used a big event to publicise his films. In 2009 he descended from the ceiling of the MTV Movie Awards dressed as fashion presenter Bruno, and 'landed' on rapper Eminem who, it was later revealed, knew about the stunt.
See the Dictator's antics in pictures below: