• Letterboxd removed all pre-release reviews for the Melania documentary after an automated data sync.
  • The platform says a corrected premiere date on TMDB temporarily hid reviews until release.
  • The film’s First Lady promoted the documentary on Fox News as critics’ comments disappeared.

What happened to the Melania movie reviews on Letterboxd?

Shortly after dozens of blunt, profane and highly negative pre-release posts appeared on the Letterboxd review page for the new Amazon-MGM documentary Melania, the user reviews were wiped from the site. The reviews showed up before the film’s official premiere and drew wide attention — then vanished overnight.

Letterboxd’s explanation

Letterboxd told reporters the removal was not manual takedown but an automated result of a data correction. The company said it pulls film metadata from TMDB, a user-editable database. When TMDB’s official premiere date for the Melania documentary was corrected, the automated sync prevented all reviews from appearing on Letterboxd until the film’s premiere.

“This was an automatic update, caused by a previously incorrect premiere date,” Letterboxd said in a statement. “This happens from time to time on film pages through the automated sync, with no manual intervention required from the Letterboxd team.”

Why the removals drew backlash

Critics and social media users read the disappearance as suspicious because the reviews that had been visible were often mocking or harsh. The timing — with the documentary attracting attention before its official release — made the sudden erasure notable. Some observers questioned whether the removal was censorship or a technical hiccup; Letterboxd’s response attributes it to routine data management.

Context: the film and the publicity

The documentary, reported to have cost about $75 million to produce, has been a polarizing cultural event ahead of its Friday release. Reports have also noted that the production generated significant revenue for those involved: one story cited roughly $28 million paid to the Trumps for a short period of filming access. Those details have fed public interest in online comment sections and review boards.

Melania’s Fox News appearance

On the same day the Letterboxd reviews disappeared, Melania Trump appeared on Fox News and spoke about “unity” — under a banner promoting her own film. The juxtaposition of a unity message alongside heavy publicity for the documentary drew fresh criticism from some viewers and commentators.

What to expect next

Letterboxd says reviews will reappear once the film reaches its official premiere date in the platform’s database. With the documentary’s release imminent, users can expect fresh reviews and ratings to repopulate the page and further public discussion on social platforms.

For now, the episode underscores how platform automation and politics can collide, briefly erasing a high-profile slice of online commentary about a controversial film.

Image Referance: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/melania-documentary-reviews-deleted-letterboxd/