Paula Abdul has revealed she was tricked by Sacha Baron Cohen as part of the actor's new film, Bruno.

Cohen, who plays the homosexual TV reporter, fooled Abdul into believing she had won an award in Germany.

He then interviewed the American Idol judge about the prize for a segment which appears in the movie.

Abdul told US radio's Johnjay and Rich Show: "I'm greeted by this futuristic dude with a mohawk - and he's flaming.

"I walk in and there was no furniture except a chair. And this guy Bruno introduces himself. He snaps his fingers and says, 'Gardeners'.

"And these two Mexican guys come in, and they drop down to all fours. I see him paying them like 10 bucks."

Abdul said she only realised she had been set up two weeks afterwards.

"At two in the morning, I woke up in a sweat and I went: 'Oh my God' And I'm dying, because you don't expect it,” she said.

Bruno is due to hit US cinemas in this July.

Ben Affleck and Arnold Schwarzenegger are among those who are thought to have been tricked by Cohen's fake character for the movie.