Yahoo Lifestyle 'The Apprentice' Director Taunts Donald Trump Over Biopic Lawsuit Threat
Ali Abbasi, the Iranian Danish director of a new Donald Trump biopic called “The Apprentice,” had a mocking response when a journalist asked if he was “scared” of a threat from Trump’s team to sue over the movie.
“I mean, everybody talks about him suing a lot of people,” Abbasi replied at a press conference Tuesday after a screening at France’s Cannes Film Festival.
Then the director added, “They don’t talk about his success rate though, you know?”
The remark prompted applause and laughter from the audience.
Watch the exchange here:
Daniel Bekerman, a producer, suggested that members of Trump’s team “clearly” haven’t watched the film, which earned an eight-minute standing ovation at Cannes, and encouraged them to do so.
Abbasi acknowledged that Trump, who is portrayed by Sebastian Stan in the movie, may think: “Oh, this crazy Iranian guy and some liberal cunts in Cannes, they gathered and they did this movie. And it’s fucked up and it’s demeaning and it’s a conspiracy.”
But Abbasi didn’t think that Trump would “necessarily” like or dislike the film.
In fact, the 2024 presidential candidate may actually be surprised, he said.
Abbasi offered to host a screening for the ex-POTUS and afterward “talk about the context” with him.
The film centers on Trump’s mentorship by lawyer Roy Cohn, who is played by Jeremy Strong, and his New York real estate business in the decades before his presidency.
One scene in particular that’s garnered attention depicts a young Trump sexually assaulting his then-wife Ivana Trump, played by “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” star Maria Bakalova (who found international fame following that scene with Donald Trump ally Rudy Giuliani in the “Borat” sequel).
Ivana Trump once alleged in a divorce deposition that she had been raped by Donald Trump. She later walked that claim back and said she’d just felt violated. Donald Trump denied the rape allegation.
In a statement to the media about “The Apprentice,” a Trump 2024 campaign spokesperson said that a lawsuit would be filed “to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers.”
“This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked,” said spokesperson Steven Cheung, adding that “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.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed and transcribed some quotations from the makers of “The Apprentice.”
