Melania Trump was asked a question about her just-released documentary, Melania, and she had a hard time describing it.
The First Lady had to create a buffer for herself when a reporter asked her, “Can you describe making the film in three words?” during the documentary’s black carpet premiere at the Kennedy Center on Thursday night.
Highlights
- Melania Trump struggled to summarize her documentary in three words, eventually listing five: beautiful, emotional, fashionable, cinematic, and proud.
- The $75 million documentary chronicles Melania’s first 20 days leading up to Donald Trump’s second presidential term.
- Despite high expectations, the film opened to poor ticket sales and nearly empty theaters, sparking online ridicule and memes.
“I think the people will judge it for themselves,” she responded at first.
Melania Trump created a buffer when asked to describe her documentary in three words
Image credits: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Melania Trump thought for a second before slowly responding, “It’s beautiful, it’s emotional, it’s fashionable, it’s cinematic, and I’m very proud of it.”
Social media users have criticized her inability to describe the documentary, given that the project is solely based on her journey during the first 20 days of 2025, leading up to President Donald Trump’s second term.
The film features moments never-before-seen, tracking the family’s transition back to the presidency and Trump’s inauguration.
“I want to show the audience my life, what it takes to be a first lady again and transition from private citizen back to the White House. What task I need to tackle, and they will see all—from my business, philanthropy, taking care of the family, as well as establishing the East Wing,” Melania Trump said, referring to the 123-year-old structure that was demolished under Donald Trump’s order, to make place for his ballroom.
She added that the 1-hour, 48-minute documentary will include “some emotional scenes.”
The $75 million documentary, bankrolled by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is expected to gross $5 million across 1,500 theaters in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, a National Research Group forecast obtained by Puck predicts.
Journalists and critics also reported that they were not allowed to enter the Thursday premiere of the documentary. Guests present for the screening included administration officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, along with MAGA celebrities such as rapper Nicki Minaj.
Image credits: MELANIATRUMP/X
The documentary got a great review — from Trump. Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this week, “MELANIA, the Movie, is a MUST WATCH. Get your tickets today – Selling out, FAST!”
The documentary is clearly not selling out, after it saw nearly empty theaters and modest ticket sales on its opening night. Attendance was so bleak in Boston that Axios reported a Craigslist ad offering Boston residents $50 in cash plus a free ticket to attend and sit through the entire movie this weekend. Internet sleuths have turned the lack of advance ticket sales into memes.
One viral trend includes sharing screenshots of empty movie theaters on ticketing sites such as Fandango. Many users took to X to joke about their disdain for the film.
Melania described the documentary as beautiful, emotional, fashionable, and cinematic
“Even if they showed this on a plane, people would still walk out,” said one person, while another commented, “I just called the police. Somebody broke into my car, didn’t steal anything, and left four tickets for the Melania movie. That is a hate crime.”
A third wrote, “I’d rather watch a close-up replay of my own birth in slow motion.”
On Letterboxd, a popular movie reviewing platform, users have been posting brutal reviews and terrible ratings of Melania, without having seen the documentary yet.
Image credits: MichaelEMann/X
“I haven’t watched this obviously, I just want it to have the lowest rating on all of Letterboxd. Do your part. F--- Melania and, of course, f--- Trump,” wrote one user, while another said, “Wont watch wont even pirate. Just making sure it’s the lowest rated movie of all time.”
The documentary currently sits at 1.2 stars, with over 2500 contributors. A backdrop to the criticism is the political unrest and tense climate in the U.S., following the killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, and a nationwide protest around the increasing immigration clampdowns.
Melania was first privately screened for an intimate audience of 70 guests on Saturday, the same evening that Pretti was shot. The documentary was directed by Rush Hour director Brett Ratner, who was accused of sexual assault by multiple women in 2017.
Image credits: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
It is Ratner’s first major movie since the accusation. His name and photograph also appeared in the investigation files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, posing with Epstein’s associate, Jean-Luc Brune.
Trump biographer Michael Wolff alleged on Tuesday that Melania Trump was “truly p---ed off” that the national backlash to ICE’s Minnesota crackdown overshadowed her film’s premiere.
Jimmy Kimmel referred to this statement, made by Wolff to The Daily Beast, calling Melania’s deal a “bribe.”
“According to the writer Michael Wolff, Melania is bigly upset that the murders in Minneapolis are overshadowing the release of the $75 million bribe—I mean, documentary—that Amazon made for her,” he said on Tuesday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“[ICE protester] Alex Pretti was killed on Saturday, the same day they had a VIP screening of the movie at the White House. Now, when she’s promoting her film she has to answer questions about it,” Kimmel added.