The Melania documentary has already started stirring conversation ahead of its release on January 30, 2026. A screening was held at the Kennedy Center, where several big names, including Pete Hegseth and Lee Zeldin, were in attendance. The former First Lady, dressed in a Dolce & Gabbana skirt suit, was also present for her documentary, posing for photos and speaking with the media.

Yet for all its pageantry, the evening found another way to make headlines. At this most exclusive of screenings, the mainstream media were barred from one notable privilege, a restriction that, unsurprisingly, spoke louder than anything said on camera.

Several mainstream media outlets were not given permission to attend the film’s screening. Among them were The Washington Post, The New York Times, AP, and Vanity Fair. As per Variety, One America News anchor Dan Ball and his wife, Peyton Drew, were the only media representatives granted access for the screening.

The producer Marc Beckman and the director, Brett Ratner, were also in attendance to talk about the documentary. Several praised it for being unprecedented and brilliant. However, the media restrictions were not the only talking points. The First Lady’s reported $40 million deal with Amazon MGM Studios, along with a $35 million marketing budget, also drew scrutiny.

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While President Donald Trump maintained that the deal was strictly between his wife and Amazon, the film has continued to attract attention for other reasons as well. One of them is its reported removal from theaters in South Africa.

Amazon MGM Studios’ documentary Melania, directed by Brett Ratner, has been pulled from theaters in South Africa, as per sources cited by Deadline. The local distributor, Filmfinity, confirmed the decision to cancel the release but did not publicly explain the reason apart from calling it their own choice. However, the documentary is still opening globally and is projected to earn about $5 million in its U.S. debut across roughly 1,500 theaters. 

Advance ticket sales in the U.S. have already reached $1 million. News of the withdrawal was first reported by South African outlet News24 and later confirmed to The New York Times. Whether it is the documentary or the controversies, the project, following the first lady during the 20 days leading up to the 2025 U.S. presidential inauguration, has continued to garner attention. 

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