Ali Abbasi, the director of the Donald Trump film The Apprentice who exited his US reps CAA and Entertainment 360 in the aftermath of an ugly incident that took place at a Golden Globes afterparty, has issued a statement explaining himself. Deadline broke news of the shocking incident yesterday, and it got picked up everywhere. With voting closed Tuesday, it does not impact the Oscar chances of Sebastian Stan, who played Trump as a wannabe real estate mogul, or Jeremy Strong, who plays Trump’s mentor Roy Cohn. But it shook up the town yesterday, because Abbasi, an Iranian-born filmmaker, was rising in the ranks after the lauded The Apprentice and following up on earlier films like Holy Spider. Deadline was told by multiple sources that an inebriated Abbasi groped an A-list actor and the fallout led to the parting of the ways with CAA and Entertainment 360 with a lot of back and forth going into it. The lesson is, don’t drink at Hollywood events. Here is Abbasi’s side in a statement sent to Deadline:
“I want to address the recent articles about me directly and openly.
I fully understand that my action made someone uncomfortable, regardless of my intent, and for that I am truly sorry.
I had spent time with the person concerned on multiple occasions and had reason to think we had a friendly relationship. When I saw him at the Golden Globes party, I was excited to reconnect. I made an over-familiar gesture—a slap on the rear—which I intended as playful and not in any sexual way whatsoever. I quickly realized I had misjudged the situation. I apologized to him on the spot, and the following day I made sure my apology was reiterated through my representatives.
The suggestion that I was dropped by my representation due to this interaction is false. My decision to part ways was a long term career decision that was not shaped by short term motivations.
I believe in taking accountability for my actions; I made a mistake, I apologized and have learned a valuable life lesson.
I remain grateful for the incredible work of our cast, crew and supporters on The Apprentice, and I hope the focus stays on their achievements.”
