Trump campaign wants to sue biopic ‘The Apprentice’ over rape scene

The Trump campaign announced it would sue the “phony filmmakers” behind a new film in which the presidential candidate rapes his former wife Ivana.

The biopic “The Apprentice” landed at Cannes on Monday and followed the former reality TV star’s rise to power in the New York real estate world in the 1980s. Sebastian Stan plays Trump and “Succession” star Jeremy Strong plays his fixer Roy Cohn.

At the end of the Ali Abbasi film, a scene depicting Trump’s alleged rape of his first wife Ivana caused a stir among premiere audiences in Cannes. He is seen violently throwing Ivana (played by Maria Bakalova) to the ground and having non-consensual sex with her. “Have I found your G-spot?” he asks in the film.

In a 1989 divorce declaration, Ivana made a rape allegation against her ex, but later withdrew her complaint. During the former couple’s divorce proceedings, Trump dismissed their version of the incident as “patently false.” Ivana died in 2022.

“We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false claims made by these pseudo-filmmakers,” Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement to MailOnline.

“This garbage is pure fiction, ripping apart lies long since debunked,” he added. “This ‘film’ is pure malicious slander, should not see the light of day, and does not even deserve a spot in the straight-to-DVD section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closing discount movie store. “It belongs in a dumpster fire.”

The Trump team did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

On Monday, TheWrap reported that critics of “The Apprentice” were divided, with reactions ranging from “pointless” to “provocative.”

“‘The Apprentice’ is miserably bad — and worse, pointless,” New York Times editor Karl Delossantos wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “A mix of plot points from Wikipedia mixed with Donald Trump soundbytes heard thousands of times that feel artificial. ‘SNL’ was a more concise portrayal of Trump. A frankly embarrassing attempt.”

Others said Stan’s performance “exceeded expectations.” At Cannes – where #MeToo was a constant discussion – the film was received with a long standing ovation.

“The Apprentice” is competing for the Palme d’Or. While the Canadian production has already been sold to a number of foreign territories, a U.S. distribution deal has yet to be finalized.