Veteran Journalist Admits Film Critics Gunning for ‘Melania?’
Puck News power player shares how media bias operates in real time
Matthew Belloni isn’t your average Hollywood podcaster.
The veteran journalist once served as an editor at The Hollywood Reporter and now covers the industry for Puck News. That, plus his time as an entertainment lawyer, gives him unique access to Hollywood and the reporters who cover the industry.
He also, apparently, has a sense of humor.
Take all of the above into consideration while processing this post he shared on X.
Critics preparing to review MELANIA tonight pic.twitter.com/mnIIeW1nU6
— Matthew Belloni (@MattBelloni) January 29, 2026
Would he make a similar crack about “Becoming,” the 2020 documentary praising former First Lady Michelle Obama?
The context?
The Jan. 30 documentary “Melania” offers an inside look at the press shy First Lady in the 20 days prior to her husband’s second non-consecutive term.
The film has a very high profile for all the obvious reasons, plus a few more. Director Brett Ratner was chased out of Hollywood following the MeToo cultural revolution. Several women have alleged he sexually harrassed or abused them, although he was never formally charged with a crime.
He also hasn’t had a major movie project since 2017 as a result.
RELATED: WHY ARE FILM CRITICS AFRAID OF ‘AM I RACIST?”
Amazon ponied up plenty of greenbacks to acquire “Melania,” and reportedly dumped millions more into its marketing campaign.
Even if you separate all of the above from the movie itself, the chances that film critics will give “Melania” a fair review are slim to none.
And, as we all know, Slim just left town.
Why?
The film critic community leans aggressively to the Left. It’s been that way for at least the past 20 years, the time this reporter has been covering Hollywood.
It’s why your average Michael Moore documentary gets rave reviews while critics bring out the knives for any Dinesh D’Souza project. One filmmaker stands on the far Left. The other is on the far Right.
It also helps explain why so many critics refused to cover “Screams Before Silence,” a documentary recalling the extreme sexual assaults on Israeli women by Hamas soldiers on Oct. 7, 2023.
Said critics often judge movies by their cultural representation, something even occasional actor Jim Gaffigan pointed out several years ago.
Dismiss Belloni’s comments at your peril. Consider how many news articles have pummeled “Melania” for reportedly low presales figures and the documentary’s high price tag – a reported $40 million. John Nolte at Breitbart News offers a quick, informative survey of said reportage.
And, in a few days, note how many critics either avoid reviewing “Melania” or use the most inflammatory language to dismiss the film.
Yes, the latter is a prediction, not based on current reality. This article will be updated if something else occurs over the next few days.
I saw Melania this afternoon. The theater had more people in it than I have seen there in a good while. We all clapped and appreciated the documentary. It showed a lovely bond between Melania and President Trump and their children, and between Melania and her father. I admire Melania and my admiration increased with the documentary. She came from humble beginnings and has not forgotten the children who need help, such as aged-out foster kids who need a chance with trade school or higher education, or cyber-bullied children, and through her advocacy changes in law and opportunities are happening.
I have as much interest for this as I had for the Michelle Obama documentary. Which is 0. And I think Melania is the best first lady in U.S. history bar none.
I heard the acting and storyline are horrible. Oh wait, it’s a documentary. WTF are they going to critique? LOL!
Start with “a” and go from there. If all else fails, make it up.