Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice”, starring Sebastian Stan as the businessman and former US president, will not be released in cinemas in the United Arab Emirates – and also Kuwait – perhaps for political reasons.

Ali Abbasi’s film, which follows Trump’s rise to fame and his apprenticeship under influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong), was set to debut in Arab Emirates cinemas united on October 16. Entertainment, the Dubai-based distributor of ‘The Apprentice’s’, confirms Variety that the release did not take place. The film was also removed from UAE movie sites, which were promoting it last week.

However, Front Row leader Gianluca Chakra said “The Apprentice” had passed censorship and would be released in Saudi Arabia – where censors cut the scene in which Trump violently throws his then-wife, Ivana, to the ground , played by Maria Bakalova, and continues. having non-consensual sex with her – and will also be released in Oman, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt.

Chakra said he had not received an official certificate from UAE censors that “The Apprentice” had been banned in the Emirates, but that there was currently a de facto block on the film’s release. Representatives of the UAE National Media Council did not immediately respond to Varietyrequest for comment.

Chakra declined to comment on why the UAE appears to be taking this different stance.

Trump had good relations with the UAE during his term. In the final days of his presidency, he signed a historic deal to provide the country with F-25 fighter jets and armed drones, but negotiations collapsed under the Biden administration. According to a Reuters report last month, the UAE would seek to revive the multibillion-dollar deal if Trump wins a second term. In September, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Trump as part of an official visit to the United States, expressing appreciation for Trump’s efforts to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two country. In recent months, the UAE has also come under scrutiny from US Democrats over its covert support for paramilitary fighters in Sudan.

Trump blasted “The Apprentice,” which was a hit last weekend at the U.S. box office, calling it “a cheap, defamatory and politically disgusting hatchet job.”

In his criticism, Variety Critic Owen Gleiberman called “The Apprentice” “sharp and scathing,” adding that “it avoids low blows.”