Trigger Warning: The following content includes mention of rape. Reader's discretion is advised.
Donald Trump's ex-wife Ivana Trump denied accusing the former U.S President of rape in 2015 by disputing a story published by The Daily Beast, which reported that she had accused Trump of the act in a court deposition from the 1990s.
Maria Bakalova, who plays Ivana Trump in the Borat sequel, The Apprentice, addressed the incident in an interview published by The Guardian on October 14, after the film included a scene in which Trump's character appears to rape his wife.
In a statement to CNN in 2015 before her death in 2022, Ivana Trump said,
"I have recently read some comments attributed to me from nearly 30 years ago at a time of very high tension during my divorce from Donald. The story is totally without merit. Donald and I are the best of friends and together have raised three children that we love and are very proud of."
She noted that she has "nothing but fondness" for the former U.S President and wished him best of luck for his presidential campaign.
After the movie was premiered, Trump's lawyers sent the filmmakers cease-and-desist letters and American distributors refused to air the film. Donald Trump took to Truth Social on October 14, bashing the film, while calling it "fake and classless."
While talking about how she feels about the scene being included in the film after Ivana retracted her statement, Bakalova said,
"Do I think it’s important to have it out there? Do I think it’s a crucial scene for both of the characters? It is, because we see somebody completely dismissing the person who built him in a lot of ways, who gave birth to his children. Not only physically, but verbally as well.”
"This is not a political film, this is not a hit piece" - says Maria Bakalova about playing Ivana Trump in The Apprentice
Maria Bakalova, who plays Donald Trump's late ex-wife Ivana Trump in the recently released film The Apprentice, addressed the film's depiction of the former President.
Maria doesn't think the film "humanises" Trump and said that after playing a character, an actor gets to dive deeper into the human being. Maria noted that there are "good and bad sides" and mentioned that people should "step away from the idea of demonising people or creating idols, because people are complex."
When asked if the film is supposed to have an influence on the 2024 U.S Presidential Elections, Maria said,
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"This is not a political film, this is not a hit piece. Will it change opinions? I don’t know. But I feel like the biggest privilege that we have living in a democracy is to share our voices and to have an opinion, one way or another.”
The Apprentice is all set to release in Cinemas on October 18.
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