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‘Apprentice’ Star Slammed After Saying America Is in ‘Bad Place’

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Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Sebastian Stan sparked backlash at Cannes after declaring America is in a “really, really bad place,” with critics blasting the Marvel star as another wealthy Hollywood celebrity disconnected from ordinary Americans.

Stan made the comments while promoting his new film “Fjord” and reflecting on the political fallout surrounding “The Apprentice,” the 2024 Donald Trump biopic in which he portrayed the future president.

“It’s just not a laughing matter, to be honest,” Stan told Variety when asked about the film now that Trump is serving his second term in office. “It isn’t.”

The actor then launched into a grim assessment of the country’s political and media climate.

“I think we’re in a really, really bad place,” Stan said. “I really do.”

“And to be honest with you, when you’re looking at what’s happening, right — if we’re talking about the consolidation of the media, censorship, threats, the supposed lawsuits that seemingly never end but don’t actually go anywhere,” he added. “You know, the writing was on the wall.”

Stan claimed the cast and filmmakers behind “The Apprentice” experienced backlash and industry pressure before the movie even premiered. “We encountered all that with the movie,” he said.

The actor recalled uncertainty over whether the project would even screen at Cannes in 2024.

“Three days before the festival, [we were] unsure if the movie was going to play the festival,” Stan remarked. “So maybe people are paying attention more to that film, I think it will stand the test of time for that.”

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“But we went through all of it, right before Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert and so on,” he continued. “So, I wish it wasn’t like that.”

“These idiots live in a bubble,” one X user wrote. “No real Americans think this way.”

The comments immediately triggered backlash online from conservatives and Trump supporters who accused Stan of sounding like an insulated celebrity lecturing the public from inside a luxury Hollywood bubble.

“Woke brainless actors should focus on their depleting careers than speak on world affairs and geopolitics,” someone else wrote. 

Another critic argued Stan represented the same wealthy elite many voters have increasingly rejected.

“The opinions of the elites don’t matter at all,” the user posted. “The elites are those who live in guarded multimillion dollar homes, gated communities patrolled by security, with million dollar incomes, & have zero connection to the ordinary common citizens.”

The commenter added, “They’re too out of touch with reality.”

Stan portrayed Trump in “The Apprentice,” a 2024 film centered on Trump’s early New York real estate career and his relationship with attorney Roy Cohn.

The film generated backlash long before its release because of its depiction of Trump during the middle of the 2024 election cycle.

Stan’s comments landed as another major Hollywood actor ignited controversy at Cannes by attacking Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and what he called “f—ing male toxic behavior.”

Oscar winner Javier Bardem used several recent public appearances to denounce both leaders while discussing the wars involving Gaza and Iran.

“And that problem also goes to Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin and Mr. Netanyahu,” Bardem said during one appearance.

“Those big-balls men saying, ‘My c— is bigger than yours, and I’m going to bomb the s— out of you.’ It’s a f—ing male toxic behavior.”

Bardem also accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza and argued celebrities have a responsibility to speak publicly despite fears of backlash.

“Everyone is beginning to realize — thanks to the younger generation who is more aware of situations we’re experiencing quite directly on our phones and on other screens — this is unacceptable,” Bardem said.

“It cannot be justified,” he noted. “And there can be no reason, no explanation for this genocide.”

Bardem claimed people who stay silent about the conflict are effectively supporting atrocities.

“If you justify it with your silence or with your support, you are pro-genocide,” he said. “Those are facts, for me.”

The actor has repeatedly used major Hollywood events to push his political activism.

During the 2026 Oscars ceremony, Bardem wore a pin reading “No a la guerra,” or “no to war,” while criticizing Trump and Netanyahu over military action involving Iran.

“Here we are 23 years after, again with another illegal war created by [President Trump] and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] and creating a lot of damage and a lot of innocents being killed and bombed,” Bardem told The Wrap.

Bardem also repeatedly brought up Gaza during television and red-carpet appearances throughout 2025.

During an appearance on “The View,” the actor accused the United States and Europe of granting Israel “impunity.”

“But the situation in Gaza has come to a term now where I cannot express the pain that I, along with many millions of people there, suffer on a daily basis watching those horrible images of children being murdered and starving to death,” Bardem told the panel.

He later claimed Holocaust survivors and international legal experts support labeling the conflict a genocide.

“And if you ask me, I believe it’s a genocide,” Bardem said. “The silence of Europe, is creating a scenario where there is such impunity.”

The View hosts nodded along during portions of Bardem’s remarks before Whoopi Goldberg eventually cut to commercial.

The actor continued speaking briefly as the show faded out.

Bardem also used the Emmys red carpet in 2025 to promote activism tied to Gaza and the Film Workers for Palestine movement.

“Here I am today denouncing the genocide in Gaza,” Bardem said during one interview. “We ask for a commercial and diplomatic blockade and also sanctions on Israel to stop the genocide.”

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