EXCLUSIVE: Ali Abbasi, director of the Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice, had an abrupt parting of the ways this week with his U.S. reps at CAA, Entertainment 360, and law firm Granderson Des Rochers, MyRumors has learned.
We’re told there is an ugly backstory here, reminiscent of the kinds of things Abbasi’s screen subject Trump has been accused of. Events unfolded at CAA’s Golden Globes after-party, where, sources said, an inebriated Abbasi aggressively groped an A-list, CAA-repped actor. In the aftermath, the agency braced the filmmaker and demanded an apology to the actor, and the ensuing fallout ended with Abbasi no longer working with the agency, manager, and the legal firm. It is not entirely clear who discharged whom, but we’ve confirmed that Abbasi is now solely repped by LARK in the UK.
The filmmaker is also no longer working with the PR firm The Lede Company, though it appears his contract simply expired after the release of The Apprentice, which drew Oscar nominations for Sebastian Stan for his role as a young Donald Trump, and Jeremy Strong for his portrayal of Roy Cohn, the polarizing lawyer who became the mentor for the young wannabe real estate mogul.
Abbasi hasn’t yet responded yet to a request for comment on the groping allegation, but when we originally reached the filmmaker to comment on the situation with his reps, he said the following: “I can confirm that I’ve made the decision to move in a new direction with my career. I’m grateful for the work CAA and Entertainment 360 have done, particularly their commitment to The Apprentice, which remains a project I’m incredibly proud of. I look forward to announcing my next steps at the appropriate time.”
We will update this story if and when a secondary statement comes in.