South Africa’s major cinema chains have withdrawn a documentary on US First Lady Melania Trump just days before its scheduled release, with the local distributor citing “the current climate” as the reason.
The documentary, titled Melania, was absent from the listings of Nu Metro and Ster Kinekor cinemas on Thursday, January 29, a day ahead of its planned international release on January 30. Local media reports indicated that the South African distributor, Filmfinity, had abruptly dropped the film.
According to the distributor’s head of marketing, Thobashan Govindarajulu, the decision was taken due to the prevailing climate in the country, although no further clarification was provided. Attempts to obtain additional details from the company were unsuccessful.
Nu Metro later confirmed that the decision came directly from Filmfinity, explaining that the rights to the film rest with the distributor and that the withdrawal was made at its request.
The move comes amid strained relations between South Africa and the administration of US President Donald Trump. Tensions have risen over disagreements on several domestic and international issues, with Trump recently repeating false claims that the South African government is carrying out a “genocide” against the white Afrikaans community, allegations that Pretoria has strongly rejected.