Trump biopic showing him assaulting first wife to be released before election

A controversial film in which former President Donald Trump is depicted in an unflattering light in his early career as a New York real estate mogul has now secured a U.S. distribution deal to be shown in American theaters this fall.

The film "The Apprentice" — which was notably given the same title as the ex-president's reality TV show — debuted at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in May. And as the film's producers were seeking U.S. distribution, attorneys representing the former president threatened litigation to block the biopic from being shown in a cease-and-desist letter. But now, NBC News is reporting that the film will be released in American movie theaters on October 11 – just weeks before the 2024 election.

In an official statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said the biopic was "pure malicious defamation," and hinted at potential legal action against the producers of "The Apprentice."

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“We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers,” Cheung said. “This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked.”

The source of the controversy surrounding the film is one particular scene in which a younger Trump is shown sexually assaulting his first wife, Ivana, in 1990. The scene stems from a claim she made in their divorce proceedings that Trump raped her. She later walked that statement back in 2015, saying instead that she felt violated in a more general way during their marriage. She passed away in 2022 and was buried on Trump's Bedminster, New Jersey golf course.

After receiving the initial cease-and-desist letter, the biopic's producers insisted that "the film is a fair and balanced portrait of the former president," and that they want audiences "to see it and then decide" for themselves. Cheung insisted that "The Apprentice" belongs "in a dumpster fire" and "doesn’t even deserve a place in the straight-to-DVD section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store."

Sebastian Stan is cast as a young Trump, and Jeremy Strong (who played the Kendall Roy character in the award-winning HBO series "Succession") portrays Trump's loyal mob-connected consigliere, Roy Cohn. Vanity Fair special correspondent Gabriel Sherman, who covered the Trump administration for the outlet, wrote the script. And Iranian-Danish filmmaker Adi Abbasi directed the film.

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Previously, Abbasi shrugged off the threats of litigation, noting that while Trump's reputation as a litigious plaintiff is well-known, his "success rate" is relatively low. He added that "The Apprentice" could also be an enjoyable watch for the ex-president, and that he doesn't "necessarily think this is a film [Trump] would dislike."

One of the film's top backers is conservative billionaire Dan Snyder, who was under the impression that the biopic would be a flattering portrayal of the former president's previous life as a real estate investor. But after a February screening, he was reportedly "furious" about how Trump was depicted.

Aside from the controversial scene that prompted the cease-and-desist letter, the film also shows several unflattering portrayals of the former president. Trump is shown cutting deals with the mafia to build his skyscrapers, taking amphetamines to lose weight and undergoing liposuction and plastic surgery.

Click here to read NBC's report in full.

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