A producer for the documentary about Melania Trump has named three artists whose music the first lady wanted to include in the film, but was denied.
Marc Beckman, Trump’s manager and the CEO of New York advertising agency DMA United, claimed that he was unable to get permission from Guns N’ Roses, Grace Jones, and Prince’s estate for their music. The reason, he said, was political.
“There was music that we tried to get, but sadly, there were politics to it,” Beckman, who repeatedly insisted that the documentary wasn’t “political,” told Variety.
“For example, the guys from Guns N’ Roses split down the middle politically. There was a beautiful song we wanted to use, and one of the guys — I don’t want to name, it’s not fair —said, ‘You got it. Go.’ And the other one was basically like, ‘There’s just no way.’ We needed everybody’s approval to get it in the film. So Guns N’ Roses was definitely a disappointment for us; we all have a lot of respect for Guns N’ Roses.“
Jones, whom Beckman said he also respected greatly, “apparently couldn’t get over the political hurdle” either.
“It’s disappointing when people put politics so far ahead, and that happened a little bit with the film, for sure,” he said.
Prince’s estate also denied use of his music.
“Literally we were ready to go, and this lawyer that manages the estate was like, ‘Prince would never want his song associated with Donald Trump.’ And we’re like, ‘But it’s not a Donald Trump film! He comes into the movie once in a while, but this is all about Melania. It’s not political,’” Beckman claimed. “And that guy blocked it. It’s so ridiculous."
Beckman also made an intriguing comment about unnamed artists who wouldn’t be expected to agree to have their music used, only to support the first lady.
Beckman said he and the other producers “found a lot of the classic rock artists that were true freedom fighters in the ’60s, who we never thought would go for it, came out and said that they were huge Trump fans.”
“And then we would get blocked by the company that might have the ownership rights of that artist’s music,” he claimed. “So, at least on a personal level, it was kind of surprising to hear some of these artists say, ‘Oh, I actually really like him. You don’t have to come and show me the film or anything. I would be happy to do it.’ But then, as you know, these guys are selling their catalogs, and the rights holders are like, ‘Not a chance.’”
Beckman did not give names.
Reps for Guns N’ Roses, Grace Jones, and Prince’s estate did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast, or from Variety.
Artists whose music did appear in the film include Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, James Brown and Aretha Franklin.
Earlier this month, Radiohead lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood and film director Paul Thomas Anderson accused Melania of using music from Phantom Thread without Universal consulting Greenwood—“which is a breach of his composer agreement,” they wrote in a statement. Therefore, they requested that the piece be removed.
Beckman told Variety that that wouldn’t happen, and the song “is in the film forever.”
