The movie “The Apprentice”, starring Sebastian Stan as a youthful Donald Trump, has made waves in each Hollywood and Washington, D.C., since its Might 2024 premiere on the Cannes Movie Pageant.
The movie helped Stan and co-star Jeremy Sturdy earn their first Oscar nominations for enjoying Trump and New York Metropolis lawyer Roy Cohn, respectively.
The story follows Stan as a youthful Trump within the Seventies and Eighties — then an bold businessman — as he befriends energy lawyer and political “fixer” Cohn. Cohn and Trump’s blossoming friendship takes middle stage within the movie as the long run president seems to be to Cohn for private {and professional} steerage whereas constructing his actual property empire.
Trump has expressed displeasure with the movie and its portrayal of him, and his crew has additionally threatened authorized motion in opposition to the film.
Stan, Sturdy and the movie’s director Ali Abbasi have all responded to Trump’s feedback on the movie.
Under, learn what Trump has mentioned in regards to the film and the movie’s response.
Trump calls ‘The Apprentice’ a ‘pretend’ and ‘classless’ movie
President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Seaside, Fla., Feb. 18, 2025. Sebastian Stan in “The Apprentice,” 2024.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters | Briarcliff Leisure
“The Apprentice” first premiered on the 77th Cannes Movie Pageant on Might 20, 2024, earlier than receiving a wider theatrical launch within the U.S. in October.
In an early morning social media publish on Oct. 14, then-presidential candidate Trump skewered the movie, rejecting its accuracy — notably its portrayal of him — and expressing his hope that the movie, which he referred to as “pretend and classless,” would fail on the field workplace.
“It is an inexpensive, defamatory, and politically disgusting hatchet job, put out proper earlier than the 2024 Presidential Election, to try to harm the Biggest Political Motion within the Historical past of our Nation, ‘MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!'” he wrote on the time.
He additionally addressed the movie’s portrayal of his relationship together with his first spouse, the late Ivana Trump, to whom he was married from 1977 to 1990. The movie depicts the pair’s courtship and ensuing deteriorating relationship and accommodates a rape scene based mostly on Ivana Trump’s 1990 divorce deposition, through which she accused her estranged husband of allegedly raping her as soon as. Ivana Trump walked again the allegation, which was additionally referenced within the 1993 biography “Misplaced Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump” by Harry Damage III, on a number of events previous to her dying in 2022. President Trump has denied the rape allegation, saying in a press release on the time “Misplaced Tycoon” was printed that allegation was “clearly false.”
“My former spouse, Ivana, was a form and great individual, and I had a fantastic relationship together with her till the day she died. The author of this pile of rubbish, Gabe Sherman, a lowlife and talentless hack, who has lengthy been extensively discredited, knew that, however selected to disregard it,” President Trump wrote in his October social media publish.
Trump crew threatens authorized motion in opposition to ‘The Apprentice’
Trump’s marketing campaign crew threatened authorized motion in opposition to the movie in Might 2024, in accordance with a number of experiences.
“We might be submitting a lawsuit to handle the blatantly false assertions from these faux filmmakers,” Steven Cheung, Trump’s then-chief marketing campaign spokesperson, who turned White Home communications director when Trump took workplace for a second time period in January, mentioned in a press release to Selection on the time. “This rubbish is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies which were lengthy debunked.”
“This ‘movie’ is pure malicious defamation, mustn’t see the sunshine of day, and would not even deserve a spot within the straight-to-DVD part of a cut price bin at a soon-to-be-closed low cost film retailer, it belongs in a dumpster fireplace,” the assertion learn.
Based on Selection, Trump’s attorneys despatched a stop and desist letter to the filmmakers in Might, in hopes of blocking its launch within the U.S.
In response to the letter, the producers of the movie acknowledged to Selection, “The movie is a good and balanced portrait of the previous president.”
The producers added, “We would like everybody to see it after which resolve.”
Sebastian Stan responds to Trump’s criticism
This picture launched by Briarcliff Leisure exhibits Maria Bakalova, left, and Sebastian Stan in a scene from the movie “The Apprentice.”
Pief Weyman/Briarcliff Leisure through AP
The movie’s star Stan responded to Trump’s criticism and threats in an interview with NPR’s “Recent Air” podcast with Terry Gross in February.
“If the film is de facto simply form of so irrelevant, then why warrant that response from him to start with?” Stan replied when requested about Trump’s response to the movie.
“It could be as a result of the reality hurts, and there’s something truthful to the film, one among them most likely being that, you recognize, he would not like anybody else taking credit score for the way in which he’s,” he continued.
Stan additionally addressed Trump’s publish in an Oct. 15 interview with On Demand Leisure on the BFI London Movie Pageant.
“It is disappointing,” he mentioned on the time. “I believe it is also unsettling how simply he can toss round such horrible phrases. Nevertheless it’s additionally very predictable — he is so unfavorable and simply continues to need to divide folks, as a result of that is when he feels he has any relevance.”
In an interview earlier this month with the New York Occasions, Stan referred to as his portrayal of Trump “a well-crafted character constructed from rage and years of suppression.”
He additionally speculated on Trump’s displeasure with the movie, suggesting that “one of many points he is most likely had with the movie is it actually exhibits you the opportunistic evolution of this individual.”
Stan claimed the concern surrounding the sensitivities of this movie turned obvious when he mentioned he could not discover a accomplice to debate the movie for Selection’s Actors on Actors collection, the place stars focus on their movies with one another.
“I could not discover one other actor to do it with me, as a result of they had been too afraid to go and speak about this film, so I could not do it,” he mentioned at a screening in November talking alongside Abbasi, who reposted the video on social media. “That is not pointing at anybody particular, it was we could not get previous the publicists, who had been the folks representing them.”
Selection reported it couldn’t match Stan with one other actor for the venture.
Jeremy Sturdy weighs in on Trump’s feedback
This picture launched by Briarcliff Leisure exhibits Jeremy Sturdy, left, and Sebastian Stan in a scene from the movie “The Apprentice.”
Pief Weyman/Briarcliff Leisure through AP
In October, after Trump’s publish in regards to the movie, Sturdy instructed the BBC he felt he was in a “barely precarious and barely harmful” scenario.
“Artwork is supposed to talk reality to energy. We do not usually do this with penalties. The specter of penalties weighs closely on me,” he mentioned.
Sturdy additionally claimed that author Gabriel Sherman had been on the receiving finish of dying threats and antisemitic hate after Trump’s publish.
In an interview with Selection in early October, Sturdy additionally referred to as the movie a “Frankenstein” film in the way in which he mentioned it handles Cohn’s creation of the modern-day Trump.
“It is a monster film. It is a Frankenstein film. It is in regards to the creation of a monster by one other monster,” he mentioned on the time.
‘The Apprentice’ director responds to Trump’s feedback
“The Apprentice” director Abbasi responded to Trump’s rebuke of the movie on X on Oct. 14, 2024.
“Thanks for getting again to us @realDonaldTrump,” he wrote on the time. “I’m out there to speak additional if you’d like. At the moment is a good day w a whole lot of press for #TheApprentice however i would have the ability to provide you with a name tomorrow.”
Abbasi additionally elaborated on his response to Trump’s feedback in October on the CBC podcast “Q With Tom Energy.”
“I’ve to say, I do not perceive why he is so indignant…. [We] attempt to depict him in a human method, complicated method with a whole lot of nuances, a whole lot of care. So I believe I used to be anticipating a thank-you letter or one thing like that,” he mentioned.
