Sometimes art imitates life in such a way that life then fires back with a priceless reaction too glorious for art to have ever imagined — and former Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder, former president Donald Trump, and the producers of his new biopic The Apprentice have just given us one of those very special moments. A little kerfuffle or brouhaha, if you will, is currently taking place amongst billionaires at the prestigious Cannes film festival over Snyder's surprise at the portrayal of the 45th president in The Apprentice, the biopic about Trump that Snyder invested in.

Variety reports that Snyder is furious with the cut of the film that will be having its world premiere on Monday night at Cannes. Few details are known about the film, other than that it will be chronicling Trump's early days rising in the business world, his first marriage to Ivana Trump, and his relationship with his controversial political fixer mentor Roy Cohn.

As Variety explains, “Behind the scenes, a nasty battle has played out between the Snyder-backed company Kinematics and the filmmakers over the creative direction of the film.

The Apprentice, which is directed by Ali Abbasi, stars Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump, Succession's Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, and Maria Bakalova as Ivana.

The article cites sources who claim “Snyder, a friend of Trump’s who donated $1.1. million to his inaugural committee and Trump Victory in 2016 and $100,000 to his 2020 presidential campaign, put money into the film via Kinematics because he was under the impression that it was a flattering portrayal of the 45th president.”

Apparently, that was not the case, as the piece continues, “Snyder finally saw a cut of the film in February and was said to be furious.”

Further, “Kinematics’ lawyers were enlisted to fight the release of The Apprentice, and the cease-and-desist letters began flying.”

Though Snyder invests in the production company, Kinematics is trying to distance itself from him. As the article details, “Kinematics president Emanuel Nuñez insists that the creative impasse between his company and the filmmakers didn’t involve Snyder.”

Nuñez told Variety, “All creative and business decisions involving The Apprentice have always been and continue to be solely made by Kinematics. Mark and I run our company without the involvement of any other third parties.”

What details of the movie does Daniel Snyder have a problem with?

According to Variety, “sources familiar with the back and forth say Snyder took issue with multiple aspects of the film and weighed in on what should be changed.”

One of the main issues involved a scene from earlier versions of The Apprentice screenplay in which Trump rapes Ivana. Variety quotes an insider “familiar with the scene that is in the current cut” who describes the footage as “violent” and “uncomfortable,” following a fight between Donald and Ivana.

In 1989, during a divorce deposition, Ivana did accuse Trump of raping her, but she later refuted these claims according to Variety in 2015, saying “The story is totally without merit. Donald and I are the best of friends and together have raised three children that we love and are very proud of.” Ivana passed away in 2022.

Daniel Snyder is the disgraced former owner of the Washington Commanders, who was forced to sell the NFL team last year after an investigation detailed numerous instances of workplace misconduct within the organization under his watch. Snyder also infamously refused to change the original team name of his Washington team, the Redskins — a term Native American groups decried for years as being offensive — until Snyder finally agreed to a name change in 2020.

Neither Daniel Snyder nor the filmmakers — nor Donald Trump for that matter — have provided comment on the controversy surrounding the film and/or its unhappy investor. But a reviled billionaire upset over giving money to fund a biopic about another loathed billionaire because the film portrays him in an unflattering light has too many delectable layers to count. Needless to say, it should be interesting to see the reactions coming out of the theater after The Apprentice officially premieres on Monday night.