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The Trump family marked the launch of Melania, Amazon’s controversial documentary about the first lady, with a special black-tie White House premiere that sent VIP guests home with monochrome cookies bearing the name “MELANIA,” branded popcorn buckets and limited-edition copies of her memoir.
On Saturday, the black-and-white-themed event took place in a makeshift cinema at White House, which had been erected after the original cinema had been demolished to make way for Trump’s new ballroom, with a guest list of 70 attendees including Mike Tyson, Amazon’s Andy Jassy, Apple’s Tim Cook and Queen Rania of Jordan.
According to photos captured at the event, guests were welcomed into a grand reception room, where an orchestra played “Melania’s Waltz” — the film’s bespoke theme song composed by Tony Neiman.
Guests then indulged in a monochromatic table spread brimming with sweet treats, including black-and-white macarons, White House-shaped cookies and popcorn from a vintage cinema dispenser, before being invited to the screening room to watch the $40 million Amazon-funded documentary.
The Trump family has faced considerable backlash for hosting the opulent event — and platforming what critics have described as a “vanity project” — after 37-year-old nurse and U.S. citizen Alex Pretti was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Minnesota Saturday morning.
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Spreads were filled with monochromatic sweet treats, including cookies bearing the name ‘MELANIA’ (Instagram via @i.am.link)
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A White House-shaped cookie at the ‘Melania’ special screening (Instagram via @paulamichellewhite)
The controversial documentary, which opens nationwide in theaters on January 30, tracks the first lady over the 20 days leading up to President Trump’s inauguration as she prepares to transition back to the White House. Amazon paid $40 million for the movie and a further $35 million on promoting it.
At the event, attendees posed with the film’s subject, who wore a pair of black high-waisted trousers and a simple white shirt with black court heels, against a white backdrop with “MELANIA” printed in large font.
Goodie bags included plenty of Melania merch: framed screening tickets, commemorative popcorn boxes, gift-wrapped cookies and a copy of the first lady’s book wrapped in white ribbon.
The documentary marks a comeback for director Brett Ratner, who has not directed a film since 2014’s Hercules after being accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women in 2017. Ratner has denied all allegations.
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An orchestra played the film’s theme song, ‘Melania’s Waltz’, to event attendees (Instagram via @paulamichellewhite)
This Thursday, the day before the film’s release, an official premiere will take place at the recently renamed Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
The film has been marketed as an insider look at the most mysterious and opaque woman in global politics, and her relationship with her husband, but details — and early access previews for journalists — have been kept under a strict lock and key until Thursday’s premiere.
“Everyone wants to know, so here it is,” the First Lady says in the documentary trailer.
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Melania Trump in her new documentary ‘Melania’ (Muse Films)
Clips cut throughout the trailer show Melania preparing for the president’s inauguration, rallies, and meetings.
In one clip, Melania is in a hotel room on the phone with Trump as she congratulates her husband. “Did you watch it?” Trump can be heard asking.
“I did not, no… I will see it on the news,” Melania replies.