Donald Trump: Former US President says he is going to sue filmmakers of biopic The Apprentice

TW: Mention of sexual abuse.

Donald Trump has always been a controversial figure. If before the 2016 Presidential race he was mostly known as a real estate giant, now the whole world knows him for his passionate speeches as well as for being the first US President to be a defendant in a criminal trial.

Way more than a political figure, Donald Trump is also a pop culture icon. Indeed, he appeared on The Simpsons and had a cameo in Home Alone. As such, his character and aura are fascinating to people. Whether it’s journalists scrutinising and commenting on his every move or creatives, people want to understand and crack the man.

This has led to a biopic called The Apprentice directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Gabriel Sherman. The movie is not flattering for Donald Trump and, as expected, he has fired back with threats of legal action. Here’s what’s happening.

Donald Trump reacts to The Apprentice

As the film was shown in Cannes, Donald Trump’s campaign team released a statement which they shared with Variety. In it they threaten the filmmakers with legal action and argue that some events included in the film are ‘fiction’. They continue:

This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked.

Trump’s team adds that the filmmakers have a hidden political agenda with this film. They explain:

As with the illegal Biden Trials [they refer to the multiple trials Trump is tangled with at the moment], this is election interference by Hollywood elites, who know that President Trump will retake the White House and beat their candidate of choice because nothing they have done has worked.

The statement goes on and refers to The Apprentice as ‘pure malicious defamation’ and concludes that it belongs in a ‘dumpster fire.’

Of course Ali Abbasi is aware of the statement and knows that the former US President has threatened to start legal action against him. When he was asked about it on Tuesday 21 May during an interview in Cannes he seemed pretty relaxed about it all. As Deadline reports, his answer was:

Everybody talks about him suing a lot of people, they don’t talk about his success rate [with those lawsuits],

The director added that though he doesn’t believe Trump would like his film, he would be ‘surprised’ by it. Abbasi even stated that he would be willing to ‘meet [Trump] and have a chat’ after he had seen the film.

Why is Trump so against this film?

The answer to that is quite simple: the film doesn’t shy away from the shameful moments of Trump’s life. In a significant move, the director and producers chose to include a claim that Trump’s first wife made.

As Deadline explains, ‘in the years following’ their divorce, Ivana claimed that Trump raped her. However, she later recanted. Though the woman removed her accusation, The Apprentice still included a scene depicting the incident.

Moreover, the movie also contains scenes in which Trump is getting hair treatment for a new bald spot and liposuction. Though these things are not proven to have happened, it seems like Donald Trump is more than aware of the power of a biopic of collective memory. Indeed, since his first presidential campaign, he fought hard to have people convinced that his hair is real.

When will you be able to watch The Apprentice?

The movie is said to be released in the UK and Ireland sometime in 2024, though a specific date has yet to be communicated. Moreover, the film currently doesn’t have a distributor due to it being an election year.

The director is hoping for the film to come out in the US around the time of the September presidential debate.

Read more:

⋙ Donald Trump’s family’s unspoken rule revealed by a former Mar-a-Lago staff member

⋙ Donald Trump: The Former President defends himself after he was seen freezing during a speech

⋙ Donald Trump's court behaviour described as 'absurd' by presenter: 'He’s just the strangest defendant'

Sources:

Variety: Trump Campaign Threatens Legal Action Over Sebastian Stan’s ‘The Apprentice’ Movie: ‘This Garbage Is Pure Fiction’

Deadline: ‘The Apprentice’ Filmmaker Isn’t Scared By Donald Trump’s Legal Threats, Says “They Don’t Talk About His Success Rate” With Lawsuits; Hopes For September Release Date Timed To Election Debates – Cannes

Deadline: Trump Campaign Vows To Sue ‘The Apprentice’ Filmmakers Over Scene Of Ivana Trump Rape By Then-Real Estate Mogul