A documentary about United States First Lady Melania Trump has just hit cinemas today (30 January).
The behind-the-scenes Amazon documentary, titled Melania, follows Melania in the 20 days leading up to her husband Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration back in January.
The film's synopsis reads: "With exclusive footage capturing critical meetings, private conversations, and never-before-seen environments, Melania showcases Mrs. Trump’s return to one of the world’s most powerful roles."
Earlier this week (January 26), Trump took to Truth Social to promote his wife's film, claiming: "MELANIA, the Movie, is a MUST WATCH. Get your tickets today. Selling out fast!"
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Such a claim was ridiculed, however, given that the docu-film reportedly cost Amazon MGM Studios $40 million for the rights and another $35 million on marketing and distribution, per Forbes with market research company National Research Group projecting a $5 million opening weekend, Puck reported.
Trade publication Boxoffice Pro projects an estimate even lower - between $1 million and $2 million.
And now, according to a new report in Rolling Stone, film crew members allegedly want their names removed from the doc's credits.
The report, which cites multiple anonymous sources who worked on the project, claims that 'some two-thirds' of the New York-based crew asked not to have their names formally credited on the documentary.
"I’m much more alarmed now than I was a year ago," a person whose work was credited told the outlet.
Other people who worked on the film told the outlet that they had 'fewer problems' working with Melania herself, who was described as 'totally nice', than they did with the director, Brett Ratner.
Ratner, who hasn't made a film since Hercules in 2014, was publicly accused of sexual harassment and assault by six women in 2017. He has denied any wrongdoing.
"I feel a little bit uncomfortable with the propaganda element of this," a member of the production team told said. "But Brett Ratner was the worst part of working on this project."
"There was more talk about Brett being slimy than there was about Melania," a production team member claimed about Ratner, who was accused of overseeing a set which saw crew members often working long hours and being forced to work without meal breaks.
"He did actually chew a piece of gum and throw it in a coffee cup on my cart," one person added, [but] 'didn’t acknowledge my existence for even one nanosecond'.
Another recalled that no outside food was allowed to be brought into the area where filming was taking place, saying: "Brett, unknowingly or maliciously, got his own food, went up there, was just eating it and just licking his fingers in grubbiest way possible, either being a d*ck or [having] no awareness whatsoever to the fact that everybody else is working and no one’s eating."
Meanwhile, another person involved in the production defended the Rush Hour filmmaker.
"He’s an intuitive, incredible, emotional, intelligent director, and you will see that on the screen," they praised. "It’s not just a documentary, it’s a film - he’s a filmmaker that can go long shots, big shots. He sees everything from a different point of view [than a documentarian]."
Speaking about the predicted box-office earnings from the film, a final crew member shared: "Unfortunately, if it does flop, I would really feel great about it."
A spokesperson for Amazon told Rolling Stone: "We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only – because we think customers are going to love it."
Tyla has reached out to the White House, Amazon and Brett Ratner's representatives for comment.
Topics: Melania Trump, Donald Trump, Politics, US News, TV And Film, Cinema, Documentaries
Rhiannon Ingle