Jeff Bezos defends Amazon’s controversial $40m Melania film as ‘a good business decision’ | Melania
Jeff Bezos defended Amazon’s controversial Melania documentary as a “good business decision” but denied any personal involvement.
The founder and chairman of Amazon was asked about the film during an interview. CNBC This week. The film, about the First Lady in the period before Donald Trump’s second inauguration, was purchased by the company for $40 million, and Melania reportedly earned $28 million. Amazon also spent about $35 million on marketing.
Bezos, who also attended the opening, denied the allegations that he organized the agreement.
“The Melania thing is a lie that won’t die,” he said. The billionaire added: “I see it always being reported that I was involved in this in some way,” but also clarified, “I had nothing to do with it.”
Bezos said it was “not true” to say that buying the film was a way to curry favor with management, but “I can understand why people would say that.”
The film, directed by Brett Ratner, who has been accused of sexual harassment by many women, was released in January without being shown to the press. It earned $16.7 million worldwide, failing to recoup its budget.
“This appears to be a good business decision, by the way,” Bezos said. “It’s done very well in theaters. It’s done very well in streaming. People are very curious about Melania. So it seems like the Amazon team made a very smart business decision, even though I had nothing to do with it.”
Although the film appeared on Amazon’s in-house top movies list after it was released online, no data has been made public.
Amazon’s Melania deal criticized It is seen by Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren as part of a “clear pay-for-money agreement with the Trump administration.”
He added: “The fact that Amazon received favorable treatment from the Trump administration while paying a well-above-market sum to produce and promote the Trump family film raises questions about Amazon’s exposure under federal anti-kickback law.”
In response, Amazon denied any accusations of bribery, claiming the film had “cultural and historical relevance.”
In a zero-star review, The Guardian’s Xan Brooks called the film “a gilded garbage remake of Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest.”
This month, Ratner joined the president on a visit to China to scout locations for Rush Hour 4, the latest in the action comedy franchise. Trump reportedly intervened last year to get Paramount to make the film.
