The director of a controversial biopic depicting Donald Trump defending a scene showing him allegedly raping his wife, citing its basis in Ivana Trump’s earlier accusations, which she later retracted.
Despite Trump’s team vowing legal action against the producers, director Ali Abbasi maintains that the scene is rooted in well-known events. The film, titled “The Apprentice,” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, tracing Trump’s rise as a property developer in New York.
Abbasi explains that the inclusion of such scenes aims to depict Trump’s evolution and the erosion of his relationships and decency as he ascends in power. Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong star in the film, receiving praise for their performances. Abbasi urges Trump’s team to watch the film before considering legal action.
“I don’t necessarily think this is a movie that he would dislike… I think he would be surprised,” said Abbasi.
Trump’s campaign communications director, Steven Cheung, announced plans to file a lawsuit against the filmmakers, condemning the film as “pure fiction” that sensationalizes debunked lies. Abbasi remained undeterred, noting Trump’s history of legal action.
“Everybody talks about him suing a lot of people. They don’t talk about his success rate,” he remarked. “The Apprentice” premiered amid Trump’s trial in Manhattan for a scandal involving an adult film star, just months ahead of the US presidential election against Joe Biden.
Abbasi humorously suggested timing the film’s release around the second Biden-Trump debate in September, leveraging the attention around the US elections for promotional purposes.
“The Apprentice” portrays a young Trump fixated on joining New York’s elite and aspiring to build his own luxury hotel, guided by the nihilistic teachings of attorney Roy Cohn, known for tactics like “admit nothing, deny everything” and “attack, attack, attack.”
Cohn gained notoriety for his role in hunting communists for Senator Joseph McCarthy and prosecuting Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
