Donald Trump Slammed by ‘The Apprentice’ Director Over Lawsuit Threats: 'It’s a Conspiracy’
In a bold move, Ali Abbasi, the director of the controversial new Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice, responded with scorching humor to the ex-president’s threats of a lawsuit. The drama unraveled after the film premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, receiving an eight-minute standing ovation.
At a press conference following the premiere, Abbasi was questioned about the lawsuit threat from Trump’s camp. The biopic, which stars Sebastian Stan as a young Trump and Maria Bakaloa as Ivana Trump, depicted controversial moments from Trump’s life, including an alleged rape scene involving his first wife.
Variety’s Gunnar Rhelin questioned, “It’s all over the news today that the Trump Organization is threatening with a lawsuit against the film. Could anyone comment on that?” Abbasi’s response was as sharp as it was dismissive.
He said, “I mean, everybody talks about him suing a lot of people. They don’t talk about his success rate though. If I was him, I would be sitting in New Jersey, Florida, or wherever he is now, New York, and I would be thinking: Oh, this crazy random guy and some liberal c---- in Cannes, they gathered and they did this movie and it’s f----- up and it’s a conspiracy,” as reported by Radar.
Intriguingly, Abbasi speculated that Trump might not entirely dislike the film. He exclaimed, “I don’t necessarily think that this is a movie that he would dislike. I don’t necessarily think he would like it. I think that he would be surprised. I would offer to go and meet him wherever he wants and then talk about the context of the movie, have a screening, and have a chat afterward. If that’s interesting for any one of the Trump campaign people here.”
As per HuffPost, Trump’s 2024 campaign swiftly condemned the film and announced, “We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers.
This garbage is pure fiction that sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked. As with the illegal Biden Trials…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 biopic dives into Trump’s life in the 1980s, focusing on his professional relationship with mentor and political fixer Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong. One of the film’s most contentious scenes depicts a young Trump sexually assaulting Ivana Trump. The depiction stemmed from the allegations Ivana made during their divorce proceedings, which she later recanted.
Adding another layer to the controversy, billionaire Dan Snyder, a significant investor in the film and a known Trump ally, reportedly demanded the removal of the rape scene before the premiere. His request was ignored, further stoking the drama surrounding The Apprentice.
