{"id":36039,"date":"2026-01-30T15:43:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/?p=36039"},"modified":"2026-01-30T15:43:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:43:58","slug":"sa-cinemas-boycott-melania-trump-documentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/2026\/01\/30\/sa-cinemas-boycott-melania-trump-documentary\/","title":{"rendered":"SA cinemas boycott Melania Trump documentary"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_36042\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36042\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-36042 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-01-30-at-10.19.04.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-36042\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image credit: AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>South African cinemas have announced plans to boycott Melania Trump&#8217;s documentary, which premieres globally today.<\/p>\n<p>Local distributor of international movies, Filmfinity, says it has decided not to release the documentary in South Africa, citing strained diplomatic relations between Washington and Pretoria, driven by disagreements over several international policy positions.<\/p>\n<p>Tensions between the two countries have been heightened by remarks from US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly claimed that a so-called \u201cwhite genocide\u201d is taking place in South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>South Africa&#8217;s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is also believed to have contributed to he current diplomatic strain.<\/p>\n<p>The documentary chronicles Melania&#8217;s life in the lead-up to her husband&#8217;s second inauguration as President of the United States.<\/p>\n<p>While international audiences await the release, Melania Trump says the film offers a personal and creative perspective on a pivotal moment in American history.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was very involved in leading the production and choosing the trailer,&#8221; Melania said.\u00a0&#8220;For the first time in history, people will witness the 20 days leading up to the inauguration\u00a0through the eyes of an incoming first lady.<\/p>\n<p>She said the documentary sheds light on what she described as a pivotal moment for the country.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My new film, Melania, provides a window into an important period for America, the 47th presidential inauguration,&#8221; Melania added.\u00a0&#8220;We need stories that inspire dreams, offer hope, and emotionally connect with audiences is paramount.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">MELANIA, the film, exclusively in theaters worldwide on January 30th, 2026. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/n2kloQ4JwW\">pic.twitter.com\/n2kloQ4JwW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MELANIATRUMP\/status\/2001266577077837917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">With the upcoming release of the Melania documentary, which nobody in their right mind will watch, thought I\u2019d repost the time the Slovenian grifter plagiarized Michelle Obama\u2019s speech almost word for word.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gzCXdzZ1Wk\">pic.twitter.com\/gzCXdzZ1Wk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Canada Hates Trump (@AntiTrumpCanada) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AntiTrumpCanada\/status\/2015844874046542125?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Melania movie might be the biggest flop in Hollywood history.<\/p>\n<p>What does that say about Trump\u2019s influence?<\/p>\n<p>America is waking up to the grift. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lNyjJ2Kf7i\">pic.twitter.com\/lNyjJ2Kf7i<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Save America Movement (@SaveAmericaMvm) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SaveAmericaMvm\/status\/2016752475336806748?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 29, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">They paid Melania Trump $28 million to make a movie absolutely nobody wanted to see. That&#8217;s called a bribe, folks<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Liam Nissan\u2122 (@theliamnissan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/theliamnissan\/status\/2016592949111312559?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 28, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Well looks like Canada isn&#8217;t interested in Melania Trump&#8217;s movie either.<br \/>\nOpening night across Canada. No seat sales. \ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23<br \/>\nI love this for her. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bniucdFqWo\">pic.twitter.com\/bniucdFqWo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 KNugent4118 \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@KNugent4118) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KNugent4118\/status\/2016545497251516875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 28, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The &#8216;MELANIA&#8217; documentary has NO POINT.<br \/>\nIt isn&#8217;t about her authentic self. It isn&#8217;t about public service (there&#8217;s none).<br \/>\nIt just worships Melania and her life of being rich and married to an infantile, uncouth, deeply disturbed, narcissistic, obese, simple-minded dictator. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iJDxWfor7E\">pic.twitter.com\/iJDxWfor7E<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Annie van Leur (@AnnevanLeur) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AnnevanLeur\/status\/2017209102758191286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 30, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South African cinemas have announced plans to boycott Melania Trump&#8217;s documentary, which premieres globally today. Local distributor of international movies, Filmfinity, says it has decided not to release the documentary in South Africa, citing strained diplomatic relations between Washington and Pretoria, driven by disagreements over several international policy positions. Tensions ...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":36042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2604,2606,2603,1276,2605,99,2609,1594,2608,2607],"class_list":["post-36039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-documentary","tag-filmfinity","tag-melania-trump","tag-pretoria","tag-sa-cinemas","tag-south-africa","tag-trump-inauguration","tag-united-states","tag-us-sa-relations","tag-washington"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-01-30-at-10.19.04.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36039"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36052,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36039\/revisions\/36052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}