‘They were too afraid’: Sebastian Stan reveals an unexpected piece of blow back for his ‘The Apprentice’ role
This is a personal attack on me!
At a recent screening of The Apprentice alongside director Ali Abassi, Sebastian Stan confirmed that he had been approached to do Variety’s Actors on Actors but was unable to find an actor willing to sit down across from him.
On X (formerly Twitter), user MaggieMinLA posted a video of Stan talking about other actors being “too afraid” to talk about The Apprentice. Stan went on to say that “[I]f it really becomes that fear, or that discomfort to talk about this, then we’re really going to have a problem.”
The Apprentice has not been without its controversies since it premiered. Donald Trump himself has attempted to block its release, and, when that obviously didn’t work, took to X to complain about it. And while the film is not without its shortcomings, the bigger picture here is much more grim that a piece of media.
When Trump was first elected in 2016, there was much less fear surrounding his opinions, or what he would think. People were not afraid to speak out against him, celebrities included. And while I knew The Apprentice would not be met without adversity, seeing the steep slope it has taken since the 2024 election is alarming.
Stan has been open about his criticism for the President. As a fan of his for over a decade now, I knew he took on this role for the challenge, and the ability to strike back at somebody like Trump. After all, what better man than one who had escaped Romania as a child in the eighties? So to hear him admit this, loud and clear, struck someplace dark inside me.
Oppression lurks in the attempts to silence
The fact of the matter is that the 2024 election is not like the 2016 election. Trump did not bumble his way into this presidency like he did then. Sure, he still seems every bit as senile (and then some), but he has amassed a powerful group of supporters to help. We have already seen the small ripple of its effects online, especially with X’s new censorship attempts.
User @thejstoobs commented on how bleak the situation is, bringing up the actors apologizing after the election, saying, “First we get actors apologizing for expressing frustration after the election & now the Apprentice is going to be buried for what? Fear of retribution? This is alarming. We should be alarmed.”
Honestly? They’re right. We should be alarmed. This now stretches beyond somebody who doesn’t like bad press. With the confirmation of Project 2025, and the knowledge that this could be the first time since Reagan that it is acted upon, it veers dangerously towards censorship. It is unprecedented, especially after all of the progress that we have made over the past decades.
This could be just the beginning. We may see it extend past publicists being afraid to bring their clients in front of a critical piece of media. That is, in essence, not America. Our system is broken to have even gotten this far. Is it even fixable? Check this space past Inauguration Day 2025.
For now, let’s continue to piss Trump off. Go see The Apprentice! Support Sebastian Stan! Laugh at the outrage of the MAGA crowd! After all, there is a little nugget of truth in fiction, no matter how much Trump doesn’t want you to believe it.
Luckily we can end on a high note. Stan’s I, Tonya co-star, Paul Walter Hauser, posted on X that he would be willing to do Actors on Actors.
I know I’m desperate for a reunion and for them to chat about I, Tonya again. Let him do it!
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