'Can't believe they released Epstein files to cover up Melania movie': Netizens mock First Lady's movie

For the first time in US history, a sitting First Lady has released a feature-length film. The carefully curated and remarkably marketed piece of media should have made millions in profit, considering the alleged $75 million spent on it. However, not only has it been removed in theatres from some countries, but the film might not even be able to recoup the production cost. So how does the Trump administration deflect attention from the embarrassment? According to netizens, by giving America exactly what it has long demanded: the Epstein files. Comedian Brent Terhune summed up the sentiment in a viral post on X, writing, “Can’t believe they released the Epstein files to cover up for the Melania movie.”The theory, while tongue-in-cheek, struck a nerve online. As audiences remained largely unimpressed by the First Lady’s self-promotional documentary, the sudden release of long-awaited Epstein-related files felt, at least to critics, strategic. The timing has not gone unnoticed.Even before its worldwide release on January 30, 2026, 'MELANIA' had been facing tough luck. The incessant ICE raids in Minneapolis and the death of two residents put the Trumps facing an angry American mob, not only demanding the call off of ICE agents but also impeachment. Against that backdrop, no amount of screenings or media appearances has been able to obscure the film’s weak commercial performance. MELANIA reportedly earned just $1 million in presales and is projected to make around $5 million in its opening weekend—numbers that pale in comparison to its budget.Online reactions have been merciless. Along with Terhune, others have also noted the downfall of the prestigious pet project. "This by far one of the funniest things I’ve read today. Thank you!" one appreciated."If the server is on fire, nobody complains about the font choice..," wrote one on X. "Melania is an absolute, all-time stinker. It's a bad film made by bad people about bad people," added another."I think they took out Catherine O'Hara to coverup the release of the Epstein files," theorised one. "British response to the film about Melania Trump: If they were screening it for free at the bottom of my garden I'd shut the curtains," said an X post.Even media outlets were less than appreciative in their review of the film. "First Lady is a preening, scowling void of pure nothingness in this ghastly bit of propaganda" wrote the Independent. 'MELANIA' is a $75 million project backed by Trump ally and billionaire Jeff Bezos. The rights of the film lie with Amazon MGM Studios and was released in over 2000 theatres worldwide. Covering the first lady's private life leading up to the 2025 inauguration, it is promoted as a documentary giving insight into her "enigmatic" personality.However, the film has bombed at the box office. Directed by 'Rush Hour' director Brett Ratner, it arrives with the fact that this is the director's first film after being accused of sexual harassment and assault by six women in 2017. The film's crew themselves have revealed that the making process was 'really long hours, highly disorganised, very chaotic.'Additionally, even before its release it was pulled back from theatres in South Africa and one Craigslist advertisement found by producer Nate Gilbert even offered free tickets plus $50 to anyone willing to sit through the film in Boston. For many online, the verdict is already in: the First Lady’s cinematic debut has flopped and no document dump can change that.