The new Donald Trump biopic, The Apprentice,will no longer be released in the United Arab Emirates, and it might be for political reasons, Variety reported. The film, directed by Ali Abbasi and starring Sebastian Stan as a young Trump, was slated for an Oct. 16 release in the UAE, and was being promoted on cinema websites in the country. However, its promotional content has since vanished, and the film’s Dubai-based distributor, Front Row Filmed Entertainment, confirmed to Variety that the release did not happen. Front Row’s chief, Gianluca Chakra, said that the film has not officially been banned in the UAE, but that there is currently a de-facto block in place on its release. Chakra declined to comment on why the release was halted. During his time in office, Trump—who has slammed the critical biopic as a “cheap, defamatory and politically disgusting hatchet job”—had a strong relationship with the Emirates. He signed off on a multi-billion-dollar deal to supply the country with warplanes and armed drones, but it didn’t come to fruition after he left office. Reuters reported that the deal may be revived if Trump wins the presidency on Nov. 5.
