Paul Thomas Anderson Got Caught Red-Handed Making One Claim About Melania That Just Blew Up in His Face

Hollywood elites love attacking anything connected to the Trump family.

One famous director just learned that lesson the hard way.

And Paul Thomas Anderson got caught red-handed making one claim about Melania that just blew up in his face.

Director Claims Music Was Used Without Permission

Director Paul Thomas Anderson and Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood released a statement claiming the Melania documentary illegally used music from their 2017 film Phantom Thread.

Anderson and Greenwood told Variety that Universal Pictures licensed the music without consulting Greenwood, which they claim violated his composer agreement.

Melania producer Marc Beckman fired back hard.

"It's a blatant lie," Beckman told Breitbart News.

"We have legally binding, fully executed contracts in place to use every song in Melania," Beckman explained.

The producer made it clear they followed proper protocol and compensated all artists.

Anderson and Greenwood's statement admitted Greenwood doesn't own the copyright to the score.

They're mad Universal licensed it without checking with Greenwood first.

But that's not how music licensing works in Hollywood.

Media Runs Story Without Contacting Trump Team

Beckman blasted the media for running with Anderson's claims without checking facts.

Variety never contacted Mrs. Trump's team before publishing the story.

"It's unfortunate that none of them contacted anyone in our camp to see if their reporting was factually correct," Beckman said.

This is the same pattern conservatives see over and over with mainstream media.

They publish whatever makes Trump or his allies look bad without basic fact-checking.

"It's time for journalists to report the news as opposed to making it up," Beckman stated.

The producer warned that one-sided reporting destroys journalism's credibility.

"If these journalists continue to publish one-sided pieces, they will lose the trust of the American people," Beckman explained.

Journalism ethics require contacting all parties before publication.

But Anderson and Greenwood's complaint fit the narrative Hollywood wanted, so the media ran with it.

Film Crushes Box Office Predictions Despite Attacks

Melania crossed $13 million in total sales and hit predicted benchmarks for Super Bowl weekend.

The documentary grossed $2.37 million in its second weekend in North American theaters.

Audiences continue packing theaters and applauding at the end of the film.

Melania maintains a remarkable 99 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

That's higher than most Hollywood blockbusters from the past decade.

The disconnect between audiences and critics tells you everything about who's out of touch.

Regular Americans love the film while Hollywood elites attack it.

This isn't the first time composers have complained about music licensing after the fact.

The Rolling Stones sued the Verve in 1997 over "Bittersweet Symphony" using a sample from their music.

That case dragged on for years despite the Verve having obtained permission from the record company.

Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams got hit with a massive copyright lawsuit over "Blurred Lines" in 2013.

The difference here is Melania has the legal contracts in place.

Anderson and Greenwood admitted Greenwood doesn't own the copyright.

Universal owns the rights and licensed the music.

Period.

Anderson's just mad he wasn't consulted.

That's not a copyright violation — that's wounded ego.

Watch how this works every single time.

Hollywood finds some licensing complaint to weaponize against anything Trump-related.

The media prints whatever Anderson says without making one phone call to check if it's true.

Not one outlet bothered picking up the phone to ask Beckman if the contracts existed.

They saw "Trump" and "copyright complaint" and hit publish.

That's not journalism.

That's propaganda with a byline.

Meanwhile Melania keeps packing theaters while Hollywood seethes.

Audiences gave it 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes because regular Americans can tell the difference between a real documentary and the garbage Hollywood usually produces.

Anderson and Greenwood's complaint backfired spectacularly when Beckman exposed they had legal rights all along.

Now the story isn't about music licensing.

It's about media outlets refusing to do basic journalism when attacking anything connected to Trump.

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Sources:

• Jerome Hudson, "Exclusive — 'Melania' Producer Rips Director Paul Thomas Anderson's Request to Remove Music from Mrs. Trump's Film: 'This Is Ridiculous,'" Breitbart, February 9, 2026.
• Paul Thomas Anderson and Jonny Greenwood statement, Variety, February 9, 2026.
• Marc Beckman interview with Breitbart News, February 9, 2026.
• Amazon MGM Studios box office estimates, February 9, 2026.