Hollywood is too afraid of Donald Trump to support The Apprentice, claims Jeremy Strong

One of the film’s stars claimed Hollywood backed away from a Donald Trump biopic because it feared retaliation from the former president.

Jeremy Strong, who is nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Trump’s mentor Roy Cohn, said The Apprentice had difficulty finding a U.S. distributor.

“I found it deeply disturbing and a dark harbinger of things to come,” Strong told the Sunday Times.

“Honestly, everyone in Hollywood passed on it because they were afraid of litigation or repercussions. I don’t think Hollywood has ever been a bastion of courage, but this was disappointing.”

The actor, best known for his portrayal of Kendall Roy in “Succession,” defended the film’s controversial scenes, including one in which the Trump character rapes his first wife Ivana.

“It’s in the historical record,” Strong said. “It was made in a statement under oath under the risk of perjury. And then many years later it was taken back again, no longer under oath. I guess everyone else should judge the veracity of that statement.”

Trump denied the accusation, Ivana Trump later withdrew it. She died in 2022.