Melania's Humiliating Movie Premiere Guest List Is A Big Middle Finger From Hollywood
The guest list for Melania Trump's documentary premiere party is devoid of big names, proving much of Hollywood is still pretty allergic to all things Trump.
The first lady hosted her eerie White House screening for "Melania" over the weekend, and on January 29, she's set to host the premiere at The Kennedy Center. Unfortunately, it sounds like her vanity project wasn't very enticing to the A-list crowd. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the attendees will include Brett Ratner, the project's disgraced director who was ousted from Hollywood amid sexual assault allegations; musical artists Waka Flocka Flame and A.R. Rahman; Maria Bartiromo; and the Chrisleys. The rest of the list, mostly Trump administration staffers, is even more underwhelming than those aforementioned.
Melania would've benefited from Tinseltown's most popular figures bolstering interest in her documentary, but it was never in the cards. While her husband, Donald Trump, was never quite as embedded within the pop culture zeitgeist as he wanted, Hollywood used to embrace him, allowing him to rack up a few TV and film cameos in the '90s and early '00s. "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" remains one of his most famous appearances. He also found success as the host of "The Apprentice," which ran for several years. However, the billionaire's presidency saw the goodwill he'd acquired in Hollywood decrease substantially over the years. Simply put, many celebrities can't stand Trump or Trump-adjacent figures. Sorry, Melania.
Melania Trump's documentary is probably going to bomb
No, that's not wishful thinking. Interest in Melania Trump's documentary simply appears to be nearly non-existent. According to Box Office Pro, "Melania" is projected to open with between $1 million and $2 million in ticket sales. Of course, this is just an estimate, but a meager intake seems more likely as negative reviews of the controversial project circulate. Even more bleak? Tickets for "Melania" haven't even sold well in markets in which she should've triumphed. According to Newsweek, theaters in the Trumps' beloved Palm Beach, Florida, where they live part-time, have only moved 13% of the tickets available for the opening weekend.
If these projections are anywhere near correct, it will take quite a while for Amazon to recoup the $75 million it threw behind the first lady's documentary. Of that sum, the retailer, owned by fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos, allocated $40 million to acquire the rights to distribute it, per Rolling Stone. The other $35 million was used to get the word out via promotional efforts.
So far, at least, it seems like much of Hollywood can't stand Melania either.