

Jimmy Kimmel has been in a feud of sorts with President Donald Trump since September of last year, after his show was pulled indefinitely after his comments about Charlie Kirk’s shooter. The show was brought back to air not long after, with Kimmel still calling out the Trump administration and thanking supporters on both sides. Last night, Kimmel directed some of his fire toward Melania Trump during his Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue.
Melania is a documentary directed by Brett Ratner that takes an inside look at Trump’s wife as she prepares to make her return to the White House before the 2025 inauguration. The film is distributed by Amazon MGM Studios and will show in more than 1,500 theaters across the U.S. this weekend.
“According to the writer Michael Wolff, Melania is bigly upset that the murders in Minneapolis are overshadowing the release of the $75 million bribe — I mean, ‘documentary’ — that Amazon made for her,” Kimmel said. “[ICE protester] Alex Pretti was killed on Saturday, the same day they had a VIP screening of the movie at the White House. Now, when she’s promoting her film she has to answer questions about it.”
Kimmel then showed a clip of Melania on Fox News being asked for her message to America about “unifying both sides.” She replied, “We need to unify. I am calling for unity.”
“Oh, good, Melania’s calling for unity,” Kimmel jeered. “Either that, or she is ordering tea, it’s hard to tell.” Melania also said during her interview that her husband “loved” the film: “He said, ‘must watch.'”
“For him, it is a must watch, not for us,” Kimmel said. “My guess is he saw the first eight minutes and fell asleep in his popcorn bucket … Her son and her husband liked it. All the people in the movie are giving it rave reviews — that’s enough for me.”
The documentary opens in theaters on Friday. The film is predicted to debut in the $5 million range, despite the circulating screenshots on social media of theaters with unsold seats.
Amazon MGM paid $40 million to license the film and is expected to spend another $35 million on marketing, prompting Kimmel’s $75 million “bribe” comment.
The film’s official description reads: “Twenty days before the 2025 presidential inauguration, Melania Trump navigates the complexities of the White House transition as she prepares for the role of first lady once again.”
