Donald Trump has stirred up controversy once again, this time threatening legal action against a new film that portrays him in a highly negative light. The film, titled ‘The Apprentice,’ features a disturbing scene where the former president is depicted raping his first wife, Ivana.
Sebastian Stan stars as Trump in this biographical drama, which delves into Trump’s life as a businessman in New York during the ’70s and ’80s. The movie made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, receiving an impressive eight-minute standing ovation despite its contentious content. The film includes a scene where Trump is shown pushing Ivana to the ground and r*ping her.
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Trump’s campaign team has reacted strongly, with a spokesperson announcing plans to sue the filmmakers. Steven Cheung told Variety, “This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalises 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.”
He further criticised the film, calling it “pure malicious defamation” and suggesting it belongs “in a dumpster fire.”
Directed by Ali Abbasi, the film opens with a disclaimer that the events are fictionalised. In one scene, Ivana tells Trump, “You have a face like a f*cking orange. You’re getting fat, you’re getting ugly and you’re getting bald.” Following this, the Trump character violently assaults his wife.
The controversy isn’t entirely without precedent. In 1990, during their divorce proceedings, Ivana Trump described a similar incident, initially calling it rape. However, in 1993, she withdrew the accusation, stating, “As a woman, I felt violated … I referred to this as a r*pe, but I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense.”
Adding to his current legal woes, Trump is also on trial in New York Supreme Court, facing 34 felony charges of falsifying business records. These charges relate to alleged payments made to p*rn actress Stormy Daniels to silence her about an affair, with claims that Trump broke campaign finance laws to influence the 2016 presidential election.
This marks the first time a former US president has been indicted in such a trial.