UPDATE — 2/12/26, TKTIME ET: Producers of Melania Trump’s Melania documentary claim that they had permission to use the Phantom Thread score.
“It’s a blatant lie,” Marc Beckman told Breitbart News on Monday, February 9, referring to Paul Thomas Anderson’s request to remove the music over its alleged unapproved usage in the project. “We have a legal right and permission to use every song and piece of music in the film. We have the legal rights to use it.”
According to Beckman, everything was done “the right way.”
“We followed protocol. We respect artists,” he stated. “We compensated everyone for their music.”
Original story:
Paul Thomas Anderson and Jonny Greenwood have called for the removal of Phantom Thread’s music in the documentary about first lady Melania Trump.
“It has come to our attention that a piece of music from Phantom Thread has been used in the Melania documentary,” Anderson and Greenwood said in a joint statement to Entertainment Weekly on Monday, February 9. “While Jonny Greenwood does not own the copyright in the score, Universal failed to consult Jonny on this third-party use which is a breach of his composer agreement.”
The duo concluded, “As a result Jonny and Paul Thomas Anderson have asked for it to be removed from the documentary.”
One segment of Melania features music from the 2017 film starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Focus Features, which is a part of Universal Pictures, distributed Melania stateside, while Universal distributed the documentary internationally.
Us Weekly has reached to Anderson, Greenwood and Focus Features for comment.
Anderson and Greenwood worked together on Phantom Thread, which premiered in 2017. The One Battle After Another director, 55, wrote, produced and directed the film, while the Radiohead musician, 54, composed the score.
Released earlier this year, Melania follows the life of the first lady and her husband, President Donald Trump, in the last few days of his 2024 reelection campaign. (The president, 79, defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris and was elected to a second term.)
“History is set in motion during the 20 days of my life prior to the U.S. presidential inauguration,” Melania, 55, said of the film in a December 2025 press release. “For the first time, global audiences are invited into theaters to witness this pivotal chapter unfold — a private, unfiltered look as I navigate family, business and philanthropy on my remarkable journey to becoming first lady of the United States of America.”
Melania was reportedly acquired by Amazon MGM Studios in a $40 million deal. The documentary was directed by Brett Ratner, who previously worked on the Rush Hour franchise and other movies. The film premiered at the newly renamed Trump Kennedy Center before hitting theaters nationwide.
Following its release on January 30, Melania has received mixed reviews. According to Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave the documentary 10 percent. Meanwhile, verified fans awarded the film 99 percent. At the box office, Melania earned $13.35 million domestically after two weeks.
The president, for his part, gave a ringing endorsement to his wife’s movie.
“I loved it. I thought it was really great,” he told reporters in January ahead of the film’s release. “It really brings back a glamour that you just don’t see anymore. Our country could use a little bit of that.”
This is not the first time a musical artist has asked someone from the Trump family to stop using their music. Queen, Nickelback, Rihanna, Neil Young, Steven Tyler, R.E.M., Adele, the Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne, Tom Petty, Panic! At the Disco, Linkin Park, Prince, Axl Rose, Celine Dion, Sinéad O’Connor and more artists have all requested that their music not be used by the Trump family over the years.
