Jeff Bezos Praises Melania Movie He Claims No Part In

by Sebastian MurdockBuzzFeedHuffPost Writer

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos denied having any involvement with a failed documentary on first lady Melania Trump while also defending it as “a very wise business decision” by his company.

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In a wide-ranging interview on CNBC Wednesday morning, Bezos defended ordering mass layoffs at the Washington Post newsroom that he owns, and insisted the Amazon documentary on Melania Trump, titled Melania, was something he had no involvement in.

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“The Melania thing is a falsehood that will not die,” Bezos said. “I see it reported all the time that somehow I was involved in this. I had nothing to do with that.”

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Bezos’ claim may be hard to believe for those who have followed his close relationship with the Trump family. Bezos attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration and has praised the president constantly, including in Wednesday’s CNBC interview.

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“Trump has lots of good ideas,” Bezos said. “He’s been right about a lot of things. You have to give him credit where credit is due.”While Bezos insisted he had nothing to do with Melania, he praised Amazon for making a “very wise business decision.”

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“By the way, it appears it was a good business decision,” he said. “It did very well in theaters. It’s done very well on streaming.” While the documentary had a decent opening weekend of about $7 million, the flattering and tepid portrayal of the first lady ultimately cost a staggering $75 million to produce.

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Melania was directed by Brett Ratner, who in 2017 was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women and who was also seen palling around with the late pedophile and sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Ratner’s film opened to abysmal reviews from critics and moviegoers alike.

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“A documentary that never comes to life,” wrote Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman. “It’s a ‘portrait’ of the First Lady of the United States, but it’s so orchestrated and airbrushed and stage-managed that it barely rises to the level of a shameless infomercial.”

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“Melania is a level of insipid propaganda that almost resists review,” wrote Kevin Fallon for The Daily Beast.

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Bezos, who again stressed he had nothing to do with the documentary, praised Amazon for making it happen. “People are very curious about Melania,” Bezos said. “So even though I had nothing to do with it, it appears that the Amazon team made a very wise business decision.”

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

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