Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is now accusing Amazon MGM Studios of “bribery in plain sight” for investing big bucks into First Lady Melania Trump’s documentary film, Melania, completely ignoring all of the media outlets who paid the Obamas hundreds of millions of dollars for both film and podcast projects. Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million to purchase the rights to Melania.
The film centers around the first lady’s journey to her husband’s second inauguration. The studio also spent another $35 million to market the movie. Warren, notorious for having falsely claimed to have Native American heritage during her time as a law professor at Harvard, tore into the studio for what she referred to as a “corrupt pay-to-play arrangement with the Trump administration.
“If there’s nothing corrupt about this deal and the bidding process was truly ‘competitive,’ why won’t Amazon explain why it reportedly paid three times as much as the next highest bidder?” Warren stated with a flair of melodrama. “The logical explanation is that Amazon is trying to buy the President’s favor by dumping millions into the Trump family’s pockets.”
“This looks like bribery in plain sight, and Amazon must give Congress — and the American people — answers now,” the Massachusetts Democrat added, according to Breitbart News. Warren isn’t the only Democrat to call foul concerning the deal. Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson, who once worried that the island of Guam could potentially tip over in the ocean if too many people visited there, also joined Warren in her demands.
The far-left senator later doubled down on those vicious smears of Melania and ridiculous attacks on Amazon in a post about the matter on X, saying, “Amazon’s Melania movie deal looks like bribery, and reeks of desperation to please Donald Trump. The American people deserve answers now.”
“The fact that Amazon is seeking favorable treatment from the Trump Administration while paying a far-above-market sum to produce and promote the Trump family’s film raises questions about Amazon’s exposure under federal anti-bribery law,” Johnson went on to say of Amazon MGM Studios buying the documentary.
“The American people deserve assurance that powerful corporations are not using their financial resources to gain political influence or favorable treatment at public expense — and that these corporations are not violating federal bribery laws,” he continued. Both Johnson and Warren are demanding that Amazon explain why it decided to invest in the film about the first lady.
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The studio has already put out a statement rejecting the accusation. “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,” the statement read.
“Amazon MGM Studios became the licensor of the film and accompanying series following a thorough and competitive bidding process. ‘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,” the company said.
In 2025, the studio explained their decision to purchase the rights to the film, saying, “We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only — because we think customers are going to love it.” And it looks as if they were right. The film debuted at number one on Amazon Prime in March when it hit the streaming service. After it debuted in theaters in late January, it quickly earned the biggest box office opening for a documentary in over a decade.
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