Warning: This post contains descriptions of sexual violence.
With The Apprentice nearing completion, it seems former US President Donald Trump is ready to do anything to prevent its release in theaters. While the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Trump’s team is trying to prevent it from being shown in theaters in the US.
Per Variety, his attorneys sent a cease and desist letter to the filmmakers. The film, directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Gabriel Sherman, stars Sebastian Stan as Donald, Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump, and Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn.
The two-hour-long film follows Donald’s rise to fame when he started his real estate business alongside lawyer Roy Cohn, along with his first marriage to Ivana Trump. The film is also said to depict his plastic surgeries, a scene where he rapes his first wife Ivana, abuse in many forms, and more.
The cease and desist letter is the first time Donald has responded to this project, despite it being first announced in 2018, per Variety.
In response to the letter, the producers said in a statement, per Variety that, “The film is a fair and balanced portrait of the former president. We want everyone to see it and then decide.”
The film has already received positive reviews and has distributors in Canada and Ireland already, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Despite this, it seems Donald’s team is working hard to ensure that the filmmakers won’t find a distributor in the US, and apparently, they plan to sue over that rape scene.
Steven Cheung, a communications director for the Trump campaign, said, via People, that: “We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers. This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked…This ‘film’ is pure malicious defamation, should not see the light of day, and doesn’t even deserve a place in the straight-to-DVD section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store. It belongs in a dumpster fire.”
However, Ivana did say that he raped her in a fit of rage, but he denied it, per Vice.
Before you go, click here to see the biggest presidential scandals in US History.
