Sebastian Stan Issues a Frank Commentary on Hollywood and America
When power goes unchecked.
Sebastian Stan just dropped some unfiltered truth about Hollywood, America, and the chaos around Donald Trump’s attempts to control his own narrative. At a press conference for his new movie Fjord at Cannes, the actor didn’t hold back when asked about his 2024 Trump biopic The Apprentice. Stan’s response was blunt: “It’s just not a laughing matter, to be honest. It isn’t.”
According to Variety, the room full of journalists erupted into nervous laughter, but Stan shut it down fast. “I think we’re in a really, really bad place,” he said. “And to be honest with you, when you’re looking at what’s happening, right; if we’re talking about the consolidation of the media, censorship, threats, the supposed lawsuits that seemingly never end but don’t actually go anywhere… You know, the writing was on the wall. We encountered all that with the movie.”
Trump didn’t just criticize The Apprentice; he tried to kill it before it even premiered. Three days before the film’s Cannes debut in 2024, his team threatened a lawsuit, calling the movie “garbage” and “pure fiction.” Stan recalled the chaos: “So maybe people are paying attention more to that film, I think it will stand the test of time for that. But we went through all of it, right before Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert and so on. So, I wish it wasn’t like that.”
The Apprentice offered a raw, unflinching look at Trump’s rise in the 1970s and ‘80s
Stan’s portrayal includes a graphic depiction of Trump raping his then-wife Ivana on the floor while she begs him to stop. The scene is based on Ivana’s own allegations from their 1990 divorce proceedings, though she later walked back the claim, saying she “felt violated” but didn’t mean it in a “literal or criminal sense.” Trump, of course, has denied it ever happened.
But the film didn’t shy away from the controversy, and neither did Trump’s campaign. Steven Cheung, a communications director for Trump, called the movie “pure malicious defamation” and promised legal action, saying it “should not see the light of day.”
Ali Abbasi, the director of The Apprentice, wasn’t fazed either. At Cannes in 2024, he shrugged off the threats, pointing out that Trump sues a lot of people but doesn’t exactly have a stellar track record in court. “I mean, everybody talks about him suing a lot of people. They don’t talk about his success rate, though, you know?” Abbasi said.
He even joked, “I would offer to go and meet him wherever he wants and talk about the context of the movie, have a screening and have a chat afterwards, if that’s interesting for anyone of Trump’s campaign people here.”
The film’s reception at Cannes was polarizing. Trump’s team has a history of going after anyone who dares to portray him in a less-than-flattering light. It’s not just The Apprentice; it’s a pattern. Late-night host Stephen Colbert’s show getting shelved exemplifies this. Every time a project even hints at criticizing him, the lawsuits start flying, the threats get louder, and the media consolidation Stan mentioned makes it even harder for these stories to break through.
Meanwhile, Fjord is getting a completely different kind of attention
The film, directed by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu, earned a 10-minute standing ovation at Cannes this week. It’s a heart-wrenching family drama about a Romanian couple with strict religious beliefs who move to Norway, only to have their five children taken away after bruises are noticed on their daughter’s body. The legal battle that follows is brutal, and the performances are already generating Oscar buzz.
But even as Fjord dominates the conversation at Cannes, Stan’s comments about The Apprentice and the state of America linger. Hollywood has always been a place where art imitates life, but lately, it feels like life is imitating the worst parts of Hollywood. The censorship, the lawsuits, the media consolidation — all part of a larger playbook to control the narrative.
Stan’s frustration is palpable. When a sitting president can threaten legal action against a film simply because it portrays him in a negative light, it sets a dangerous precedent. It’s not just about The Apprentice; it’s about what happens when power goes unchecked. The fact that Trump’s team called the movie “garbage” and “pure fiction” while simultaneously trying to bury it spoke volumes. They didn’t want the public to see it because it might make people question the official story.
That’s the real issue here
When art is censored, when filmmakers are threatened, when the truth is buried under a mountain of lawsuits and media spin, it doesn’t just affect Hollywood. It affects all of us. Stan’s role in The Apprentice wasn’t just about playing a character; it was about holding up a mirror to a moment in time that a lot of people would rather forget.
As for Fjord, it’s a reminder that great storytelling can still cut through the noise. The film’s standing ovation proves that audiences are hungry for raw, emotional truth. But Stan’s comments about the state of the country serve as a sobering counterpoint. In a world where the truth is constantly under attack, it’s more important than ever to support the artists who are willing to tell it, no matter the cost.
(Featured image: Jay Dixit)
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