Donald Trump’s campaign is reportedly threatening to sue after over new film The Apprentice - which documents the former president’s early years as a property mogul.
Iran-born director Ali Abbasi's much-anticipated drama of a young Mr Trump's ascendancy as a New York businessman premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday, to a largely positive reception.
Part of the pull of the film is its timing, as Mr Trump, now 77, looks to win another term as US president in November, despite a number of legal challenges.
According to US magazine Variety, the film features unflattering and controversial scenes, including one that reportedly shows him throwing his first wife Ivana to the floor before having sex with her against her consent. (In a book Ivana did allege that she was raped by her then-husband but later rowed back on the claim).
Other scenes reportedly show Mr Trump taking amphetamine pills, having surgery to correct a bald patch on his head, and undergoing liposuction.
Steven Cheung, chief spokesperson of the Trump presidential campaign, slammed the film as he told Variety: “We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers.
“This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalises lies that have been long debunked.
“As with the illegal Biden Trials, this is election interference by Hollywood elites, who know that President Trump will retake the White House and beat their candidate of choice because nothing they have done has worked.
“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.”
Mr Cheung appeared to reference the multiple lawsuits Trump is currently facing.
Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and he has blasted the action against him as a politically motivated effort to hobble his attempt to take back the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden.
Variety reports The Apprentice received an eight-minute-long standing ovation from the audience as it premiered at Cannes on Monday.
The film features actor Sebastian Stan starring as a younger Trump, while Succession’s Jeremy Strong plays lawyer Roy Cohn and Maria Bakalova plays Ivana Trump.
Mr Trump hosted the US version of reality TV show The Apprentice for 14 seasons. But the film’s title refers to his earlier relationship to businessman Mr Cohn, who became a kind of mentor figure to the future president.
The Standard’s reviewer, Jo-Ann Titchmarsh, gave the film four stars, praising Stan and Strong’s “fantastic” performances as Mr Trump and Mr Cohen.
