Tags: melania trump | documentary | music | rights breach claim | marc beckman | phantom thread

'Melania' Producer Denies Music Rights Breach Claim

By    |   Thursday, 12 February 2026 05:35 PM EST

The producer of "Melania" says any allegation that the documentary breached a composer agreement is a "blatant lie."

"We have a legal right and permission to use every song and piece of music in the film," Marc Beckman told Breitbart News.

"We have the legal rights to use it. We've done everything the right way. We followed protocol. We respect artists. We compensated everyone for their music."

Director Paul Thomas Anderson and Radiohead lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood earlier this week requested that a segment of Greenwood's score from Anderson's film "Phantom Thread" be removed from "Melania" and accused Universal of breaching Greenwood's composer agreement by allowing Melania Trump to use his music without consulting him.

"It has come to our attention that a piece of music from Phantom Thread has been used in the 'Melania' documentary," Variety reported.

"While Jonny Greenwood does not own the copyright in the score, Universal failed to consult Jonny on this third-party use which is a breach of his composer agreement. As a result, Jonny and Paul Thomas Anderson have asked for it to be removed from the documentary."

Beckman said the claims are patently false.

"We have legally binding, fully executed contracts in place to use every song in Melania," he said, adding "This is just ridiculous."

He also said Variety never contacted him or their team for comment.

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

"It's time for journalists to report the news as opposed to making it up. I have a tremendous amount of respect for journalism and its role in American society but if it continues to head in this direction, it will lose its impact and importance in our democracy."

Solange Reyner

Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.

© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


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The producer of "Melania" says any allegation that the documentary breached a composer agreement is a "blatant lie."
melania trump, documentary, music, rights breach claim, marc beckman, phantom thread
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2026-35-12
Thursday, 12 February 2026 05:35 PM
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