CANNES, France (AFP) — The director of an explosive biopic that shows Donald Trump raping his wife defended the controversial scene on Tuesday, telling Agence France-Presse (AFP) the alleged incident is “well known” and shed light on the ex-president’s character.
“The Apprentice,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, traces Trump’s origins as an ambitious young property developer in 1970s and 1980s New York.
Donald Trump’s team has vowed to sue the producers, calling it “garbage” and “pure malicious defamation.”
The most controversial scene is that of Trump raping his first wife, Ivana, after she belittles him for growing fat and bald.
“This particular thing is very well known. This incident, Ivana Trump said it under deposition, under oath,” said the filmmaker, Ali Abbasi.
In real life, Ivana made the accusation during divorce proceedings but later rescinded the allegation. She died in 2022.
Asked why the scene was included, Abbasi said the movie is “about how, point by point, bit by bit, (Trump) distances himself from those human relationships that define him and that hold him in check as a human being.
“Ivana’s relationship is
super-important, obviously. Ivana is someone who is very close to him.”
Sebastian Stan, best known from Marvel superhero films, stars as Trump, while Jeremy Strong of “Succession” fame plays his ruthless mentor and attorney Roy Cohn.
Both received glowing reviews from critics.
Other unflattering scenes show Trump suffering erectile dysfunction, and undergoing liposuction and surgery for hair loss.
But the film overall offers a nuanced account, depicting an ambitious but naive social climber whose decency erodes as he learns the dark arts of dealmaking and power.
“A lot of the behavior and the personality is much more relatable than we want to admit,” Stan told AFP.
Abbasi suggested that “Donald’s team should wait to watch the movie before they start suing us.”
“I don’t necessarily think this is a movie that he would dislike... I think he would be surprised,” he said.
