Lawyers for Donald Trump have sent a cease-and-desist letter to the producers of The Apprentice in an attempt to block its US sale and release after the film – which depicts the former US president raping his first wife – shocked audiences at its world premiere at the Cannes film festival.
The Trump campaign said earlier this week they would take legal action against Ali Abbasi’s film, with spokesperson Stephen Cheung vowing “to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend film-makers”.
“This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalises lies that have been long debunked,” Cheung told Variety on Monday. “This ‘film’ is pure malicious defamation, should not see the light of day, 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. It belongs in a dumpster fire.”