Jeff Bezos has defended Amazon MGM Studios acquiring and releasing the Melania documentary, calling it a “very wise business decision.”
Bezos discussed the documentary on CNBC’s Squawk Box, denying claims that his company acquired the company to curry favor with the president.
“The Melania thing is a falsehood that will not die,” Bezos said. “I see it reported all the time that somehow I was involved in this… I had nothing to do with that.”
While Bezos, who stepped down as Amazon’s CEO in 2021 and now currently serves as its executive chairman, admitted that he understands how people could see the deal as a bribe, he defended it as a “good business decision.”
“I can see why people say this. We have denied it. Melania’s office has denied it. It’s not true,” he said. “By the way, it appears it was a good business decision. It did very well in theaters. It’s done very well on streaming. People are very curious about Melania. So even though I had nothing to do with it, it appears that the Amazon team made a very wise business decision.”
Amazon MGM acquired Melania for $40 million and spent another $35 million on marketing, earning $16.6 million at the theatrical box office. Audience opinions of the film have been difficult to gauge versus the critics depending on the platform. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 99 percent audience score based on over 2,500 verified ratings versus a 10 percent critics score, but on IMDB, it has a 1.6 rating based on 69,000 votes; on Letterboxd, it has a 1.1 rating based on over 29,000 votes. Upon its release in March, the documentary debuted at the top of Amazon’s streaming charts.
Amazon’s VP of public policy Brian Huseman denounced accusations from lawmakers that the platform acquired Melania as a bribe in March.
“We disagree with any suggestion that Amazon’s decision to license this film and accompanying series was improper. We regularly release documentaries that offer unique perspectives on cultural and historical figures across the political spectrum.” Huserman said.
“Amazon MGM Studios became the licensor of the film and accompanying series following a thorough and competitive bidding process,” Huserman added. “Melania gave us the opportunity to tell a story that’s never been told before, with unprecedented access to a historic presidential transition through the perspective of the First Lady. Our decision was based on the film and series itself — the access, the story, and its cultural and historical relevance.”
In the same interview on Squawk Box, Bezos also expressed positive thoughts about Trump’s second term.
“I think he is a more mature, more disciplined version of himself than he was in his first term,” Bezos said. “Again, I’ve worked with all the presidents, I will work with all the presidents… and I hope to do that going forward if they’ll have me, but we need our business leaders to provide input into the administration, regardless of who the president is.”
“He’s been right about a lot of things, and you have to give him credit where credit is due,” he added.