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• Melba Moore made her Broadway debut in 1968 in the musical Hair

• The future Tony winner shared a dressing room with future Oscar winner Diane Keaton, who also made her Broadway debut in Hair

• Moore reflects on her life journey in the memoir This Is It — Marvelous... & Getting Better

"Once I got the Tony Award,everythingchanged!" Melba Moore exclaims during a sit-down with PEOPLE, recalling her best featured actress in a musical triumph forPurliein 1970. Even during previews, Moore's performance as Lutiebelle stirred such a sensation that the show's writers, Peter Udell and Gary Geld, penned a new song, "I Got Love," specifically for her, just so she'd have another show-stopping number.

It's one of several peak experiences that Moore reflects on in her memoirThis Is It — Marvelous... & Getting Better,named after her 1976 dance and U.K. Top 10 hit composed and produced by "The Hustle" maestro Van McCoy. Written with author Kevin E. Taylor, the book is a testament to the kind of faith and perseverance that's made Moore a legend in several realms, from television and film to theatre and Grammy-nominated recordings.

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In tandem with the book's release last fall, her longtime friend Valerie Simpson held a launch party at Ashford & Simpson's Sugar Bar in New York City while Moore quietly celebrated her 80th birthday with family.

"I had a special time with my daughter and my ex-husband [Charles Huggins]," she says. "They took me out to dinner. That's interesting because we are still a family. We really have come together around this book. When you tell your story, you tell other people's stories, too, so sometimes you got to be careful because what you say may affect other people, especially my family. I'm not interested in opening old wounds.

"I learned a couple of things," Moore continues on the topic of writing her memoir. "I'm willing to take chances."

Indeed, Moore hadn't even considered a career in musical theater before she made her professional breakthrough in the original Broadway cast ofHair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musicalin 1968.

"I got intoHairbecause of a recording session," she says. "Valerie Simpson had ushered me into the background singing world. I was making a good living. The people who were doing the music and book forHairinvited Valerie and myself, and everybody on the recording session, to come sing for the producer and the director. They were looking for interesting personalities, and they would train us for the role."

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Moore started out inHairas Dionne, singing "White Boys" in a flamboyant, Supremes-styled trio while revealing her exquisite vocal tone during her solo on "Walking in Space."

Future Oscar winnerDiane Keaton, who died in 2025, was among Moore'sHaircast mates. "She was hilarious," Moore says of Keaton, who started off as a member of the ensemble and later graduated to the lead role of Sheila. "We shared a dressing room. I remember a lot of times Diane and I would go to Tad's Steakhouse to have these cheap steaks."

"Whenever anybody would say anything, her comment would be 'la-la la-la la... yeah.' She said that to Marlon Brando when he introduced himself! She made me realize, when I saw her doing the role of Sheila, that she was a skilled actress. We all looked like we just came off the street, but I could tell that she'd probably studied."

When Keaton leftHair, Moore assumed her role of Sheila, becoming the first Black actress to replace a White actress in a lead role on Broadway. "I got the front page ofThe New York Times.It said 'Melba Moore Changes the Color ofHair.' It didn't change mycareerso much," she says with a laugh.

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Two years later, her career would change dramatically withPurlie, the musical adaptation of the Ossie Davis playPurlie Victorious. It marked another major step for Moore. "They really didn't audition me for singing," she recalls. "I auditioned for the acting part of Lutiebelle, with several other male actors who were auditioning for the lead role."

"I was raised by a domestic from the backwoods of South Carolina," she continues. "My mother, who was a singer, was gone all the time, so basically, my personality was like hers. I was like a cotton chopper. When it came time to audition for Lutiebelle, I was perfect for it. Plus, I could sing."

Opening on Broadway in 1970,Purliefeatured a cast of musical theater dynamos, including futureThe Jeffersonsstar Sherman Hemsley, Linda Hopkins and George Faison. Cleavon Little, who starred as the title character, and Moore both won Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards for their star-making performances.

"I got invited to do everybody's TV show," she says of thePurlieeffect. "That's what made me a household name. The Tony Award is kind of limited to the people in theater. Once you get on television, whether they know about [the Tony Award] or not,everybodysees you." At the same time, Moore received her first Grammy Award nomination, for best new artist, after the release of her full-length debut,Living to Give, in 1970.

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Moore was about to make history again, this time with Broadway actorClifton Davis. The two met through Novella Nelson, one of Moore's cast mates inPurlie.

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"Clifton was in the chorus ofHello, Dolly!"she recalls. "Between matinees and evening shows, sometimes he'd come by our show. He took me out for a date. We became lovers and moved in together. He went from the chorus ofHello, Dolly!to the lead in [1971's]Two Gentlemen of Verona, so then we were like the Black Sonny & Cher of Broadway!"

Their relationship even inspired Davis to write "Never Can Say Goodbye," which gave the Jackson 5 a chart-topping hit on the R&B chart in 1971.

Representatives fromThe Carol Burnett Showapproached Moore and Davis about starring in a six-week series for CBS whileBurnettwent on summer hiatus. WhenThe Melba Moore-Clifton Davis Showpremiered in June 1972, they became the first Black couple to host their own television show, leading a cast that featured Moms Mabley, plus guest stars like Nancy Wilson,Jean Stapletonand recentThe Last Picture ShowOscar winnerCloris Leachman.

"We had great input to the show," says Moore. "We brought in a young woman by the name of Mildred Lane that had been inPurlie. We had them hire her as a backup singer to be part of the music ensemble. She would give us suggestions, in terms of what the humor should be."

"There were only White writers there, and we were very concerned that the humor should not be insulting to Black people," she continues. "I think my look was important, too. I had an incredible wardrobe designer by the name of Bernard Johnson, who did a lot of wardrobe for Broadway people, and I had these interesting Afro-centric hairdos that were just out of this world."

Though the television series was short-lived, Moore thrived in her recording career, from her hit disco rendition of the Bee Gees' "You Stepped Into My Life" to a Grammy nomination for Van McCoy's "Lean on Me," one of her signature anthems. However, it was her tenure on Capitol Records during the 1980s when Moore finally achieved her first No. 1 hit, 16 years after her debut album. Her duet with Freddie Jackson on "A Little Bit More" toppedBillboard's soul singles chart in 1986, quickly followed by her own No. 1 solo smash, "Falling."

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"A number-one hit is wonderful but to share it with someone like Freddie, who was a good friend, just felt so good, like living your best life," Moore says. "Freddie did the male lead first and then I came in and followed what he had laid out for us. I knew he was great, but when I listen to some of the songs, even now, I'm still in awe of his talent."

Moore made it into the record books with her 1982 albumThe Other Side of the Rainbow. On the title track, she held a note for 36 seconds. "I don't know which take it was because it's not something that Itryto do," she says. "It's just there. I can do it anytime. Some things are not so easy for me, but the long high notes are easy."

To this day, theGuinness Book of Recordsdeems Moore's sustained note "the longest studio-recorded note by a female singer and the longest-held single note on an album track."

Moore still astounds audiences with her stratospheric range, and even reunited with Clifton Davis, 80, at one of her sold-out cabaret performances in New York City several years ago. She applauds how his career has continued to flourish, especially with his current role on the hit CBS soap operaBeyond the Gates.

"He's pretty good in it," she says. "He has a little beard and everything. My goodness!"

The key to Moore's own longevity is fueled by a consistent fitness regimen, a disciplined diet and devout spirituality. "As a singer, you have to tell the story with your body," she says. "I always took a lot of dance classes from Alvin Ailey's company. You can't just think about the voice. Your feet, your back, and your legs have to be strong. I think my next book is going to be on singing therapy. What I find is that if you sing every day — I'm not talking about trying to be a 'singer' — you breathe a lot and you get more oxygen. It also clears inflammation. Singing really is a healer."

After more than 50 years onstage, Moore is building on her legacy with new recordings and film projects. Fans and colleagues cheered when comedian Katt Williams sponsored her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023, while the unveiling of Melba Moore Plaza across the street from Arts High School, her alma mater in Newark, N.J., symbolized a profound, full-circle moment for the singer.

"This business of show business is not just all fun and excitement," she says. "It means something to the community, to your life adding up to something. It's agreathonor."

This Is It — Marvelous... & Getting Betteris available wherever books are sold.

Read the original article onPeople

Carlile is one of the performers who have been outspoken against PresidentDonald Trumpand his administration's policies going back to his first term in office. She will join Bad Bunny and Green Day as anti-Trump critics performing at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.

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The singer will perform a rendition of "America the Beautiful" before the game kicks off. She suggested in an interviewwith Varietyon Friday she's going into the performance with her "own moral code" in mind, adding that the performance was important to her as a member of the LGBT community.

"And I have my own moral code, my own moral imperative, that I have to answer to at the end of the day, as a wife and mother, and I believe in my ability and responsibility to do this, and that's why I'm here," she told the magazine. "And the throughline to being queer and being a representative of a marginalized community and being put on the largest stage in America to acknowledge the fraught and tender hope that this country is based on, it's something you don't say no to. You do it."

Nfl Legend Blasts League For Choosing Bad Bunny As Halftime Performer: 'Anything For Money'

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Super Bowl LX performers Bad Bunny and Green Day have been critical ofU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)agents and their operations against illegal immigrants in the U.S.

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Variety said in its interview with Carlile that the song "America the Beautiful" may be heard in a different way in "calmer times." "But even without hearing every verse that was written, there may be something about it that, in a time of trouble and division, will be moving for people who are really tuned into it. You're feeling that."

Carlile responded, "Yeah. And I think if we're gonna save this country as a people, we have to be reminded on some level that deep down we love it."

Despite the criticism she may hear from her own fans, Carlile said she wasn't going to get into arguments about why she was singing the patriotic song.

"… I'm not gonna waste my time in the pit fights," Carlile said. "My activism isn't gonna be in the comments section. And, you know, I may not be everyone's kind of activist, but like I said, I have my own moral imperative that I have to go to sleep with at night."

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Super Bowl LX is set to start at 6:30 p.m. ET.

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Original article source:Super Bowl LX singer Brandi Carlile says she will keep her 'moral code' in mind during performance

Protest rallies are expected to follow the president, who performs a largely ceremonial role as head of state, as he travels to Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra over four days starting Monday. Some critics demand he be arrested in Australia on suspicion of inciting genocide in Gaza.

He is the first Israeli head of state to visit Australia sinceReuven Rivlinin 2020. Herzog's father,Chaim Herzog, also visited Australia as Israel's president in 1986.

Here's what to know:

The Australian visit comes at a time of extraordinary bilateral tensions

Within hours of two gunmen allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group launching their attack in Sydney on Dec. 14 last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahublamedhis Australian counterpartAnthony Albanese, posting on social media "your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire."

Netanyahuhad been outraged by Australia's decision four months earlier to join France, Britain and Canada inrecognizing a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu has repeatedly sought to link widespread calls for a Palestinian state, and criticism of Israel's military offensive in Gaza, togrowing incidents of antisemitismworldwide.

Albanese has accused Netanyahu of being "in denial" over the humanitarian consequences of war in Gaza. Netanyahu has branded the Australian a "weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews."

Australian Jews have appealed to both leaders to restore "diplomatic norms" to a bilateral relationship that had been friendly for decades.

Albanese has made clear his government's invitation to Herzog to make that state visit was the idea of Jewish leaders.

"President Herzog is coming particularly to engage with members of the Jewish community who are grieving the loss of 15 innocent lives," Albanese said.

"People should recognize the solemn nature of the engagement that President Herzog will have with the community of Bondi in particular, and bear that in mind by the way that they respond over coming weeks," he added.

Jewish leaders welcome Herzog's visit

Sydney-based Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said his community "warmly anticipates" Herzog's arrival.

"His visit will lift the spirits of a pained community and we hope will lead to a much-needed recalibration of bilateral relations between two historic allies," Ryvchin said.

"President Herzog is a patriot and a person of dignity and compassion and holds an office that is above party politics. He is a person who has sadly had to comfort families, police and first responders after terrorist attacks many times, and will know how to reassure and fortify our community in its darkest time," he added.

Ryvchin is one of the Australian Jewish leaders who have accused Albanese's center-left Labor Party government of not doing enough to curb an increase in antisemitism in Sydney and Melbourne, where 85% of Australia's Jewish population live, since theIsrael-Hamas warbegan in 2023.

Herzog sees opportunity to reset relations

Herzog, a former head of Israel's centrist Labor Party, now holds a job meant to serve as a unifier and moral compass for all Israelis. A onetime rival of Netanyahu, he has good working relations with the prime minister.

Ahead of his visit, Herzog told The Associated Press that the "primary reason" for the trip was to stand with Australia's Jewish community as the representative of all Israelis.

"From thousands of miles away in Israel, we feel the deep pain of our Jewish Australian sisters and brothers. I am coming to show them our love and support at this devastating time," he said.

But Herzog also said the visit is an opportunity "to reinvigorate relations" between Israel and Australia.

"There is a long history of partnership between our two nations and deeply held shared values," he said, adding that the visit "offers a chance to reignite the longstanding bipartisan support for ties between Israel and Australia."

"I hope to be able to communicate this message of goodwill and friendship to the Australian people, and dispel many of the lies and misinformation spread about Israel over the last two years," he said.

Israel's critics have called for Herzog's invitation to be withdrawn

"This is one of the most divisive figures in the world. Bringing him to Australia will undermine social cohesion, it will not rebuild it. It will increase division, it will not bring about national unity," Australian human rights lawyer Chris Sidoti said. Sidoti described the invitation as a "crazy idea."

Sidoti was one of three experts appointed by the U.N.'s Human Rights Council to an inquiry thatreportedin September last year that Herzog, Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense MinisterYoav Gallanthad incited the commission of genocide in Gaza.

The findings carry no legal consequence and Israel has rejected genocide allegations against the country as antisemitic "blood libel." Sidoti and other lawyers say Australian police could potentially arrest Herzog on suspicion of inciting genocide, which is a crime under Australian law as well as international law. Australian Federal Police have declined to comment.

A lawmaker in Albanese's government,Ed Husic,said he was "very uncomfortable" with Herzog's visit. Husic, a Muslim and vocal critic of Israel's conduct in Gaza, said he was "concerned that a figure like that doesn't necessarily enhance social cohesion."

Some state government lawmakers from Albanese's Labor Party have said they will join a protest in downtown Sydney on Monday planned by the Palestine Action Group activist organization.

"We need to send a clear message to our government and to the world … we are fundamentally opposed to this tour, which is designed to normalize genocide," protest organizer Josh Lees said.

Police prepare to use enhanced powers of arrest to control protesters in Sydney

In response to theBondi shooting, the New South Wales state parliament rushed through legislation increasing police powers to arrest protesters in the aftermath of a declared terrorist attack.

New South Wales PremierChris Minnssaid a heightened police response in Sydney during Herzog's visit was necessary to ensure safety.

"We will have thousands of mourners and thousands of protesters as well as a visiting head of state all in the same city at the same time. And we've got a responsibility to keep people safe in those circumstances," Minns said.

"Every international city anywhere in the world would apply exactly the same geographical restrictions so that the two groups don't meet and as a result there's not a major confrontation," Minns added.

Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed.

Milan-Cortina Olympics Protest

The protesters "demonstrate 'against the Olympics,' causing these images to end up on televisions around the world. After others cut the railway cables to prevent the trains from leaving," Meloni said in a statement on Facebook, adding that thousands of Italians are working to keep the Games running smoothly, many of whom are volunteers.

"Solidarity, once again, with the police, the city of Milan, and all those who will see their work undermined by these gangs of criminals," she said.

Italy's transport ministry said it has opened a terrorism investigation into the synchronized sabotage of railway lines in northern Italy on Saturday, the first day of the Games.

No one has claimed responsibility, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

The alleged sabotage first hit the central Bologna hub, which governs rail traffic between northern and southern Italy, around 6 a.m. Saturday when it was still dark out, ANSA reported. It then struck Pesaro-area trains along the Adriatic coast.

Infrastructure was burned or cut to cause the sabotage in both cases, the news agency said.

The transport ministry didn't provide details, but said it would seek millions of euros in compensation from the perpetrators. Thousands of passengers were impacted by the hourslong delays.

In Milan, Italian police fired tear gas and a water cannon on Saturday evening at dozens of protesters who threw firecrackers and tried to access a highway near aWinter Olympicsvenue. The brief confrontation came at the end of a peaceful march by thousands against the environmental impact of the Games and the presence ofU.S. agents in Italy.

The skirmish comes days after Meloni's governmentapproved a security decreethat allows police to detain people for up to 12 hours when there are reasonable grounds to believe they may act as agitators and disrupt peaceful protests. Opposition lawmakers criticized the measure as an attack on freedom of expression.

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Peaceful protest is legitimate, but "we draw a line at violence," International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams said during the IOC's daily media briefing. "That has no place at the Olympic Games."

Police on Saturday held off the violent demonstrators, who appeared to be trying to reach the Santagiulia Olympic ice hockey rink, after the skirmish. By then, the larger peaceful protest, including families with small children and students, had dispersed.

At the earlier, larger demonstration, which police said numbered 10,000, people carried cardboard cutouts to represent trees felled to build the new bobsled run in Cortina. A group of dancers performed to beating drums. Music blasted from a truck leading the march, one a profanity-laced anthem against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Beforehand, a group of masked protesters had set off smoke bombs and firecrackers on a bridge overlooking a construction site about 800 meters (a half-mile) from the Olympic Village that's housing around 1,500 athletes.

The demonstration coincided with U.S. Vice President JD Vance's visit to Milan as head of the American delegation. Vance and his family visitedLeonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper"closer to the city center, far from the protest, which also was against the deployment of ICE agents to provide security to the U.S. delegation.

U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, an ICE unit that focuses on cross-border crimes, frequently sends its officers to overseas events like the Olympics to assist with security. The ICE arm at theforefront of the immigration crackdownin the U.S. is known as Enforcement and Removal Operations, and there is no indication its officers are being sent to Italy.

The demonstration on Saturday followedanother one last week, when hundreds protested the deployment of ICE agents.

Like last week, demonstrators Saturday said they were opposed to ICE agents' presence, despite official statements that a small number of agents from an investigative arm would be present in U.S. diplomatic territory, and not operational on the streets.

AP Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Morgan McSweeney said he took responsibility for advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson, 72, to Britain's most important diplomatic post in 2024.

"The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself," McSweeney said in a statement. "When asked, I advised the Prime Minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice."

Starmer is facing a political storm and questions about his judgement after newly published documents, part ofa huge trove of Epstein filesmade public in the United States, suggested that Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to the convicted sex offender when he was the U.K. government's business secretary during the 2008 financial crisis.

Starmer's government has promised to release its own emails and other documentation related to Mandelson's appointment, which it says will show that Mandelson misled officials.

The prime minister apologized this week for "having believed Mandelson's lies."

He acknowledged that when Mandelson was chosen for the top diplomat job in 2024, the vetting process had revealed that Mandelson's friendship with Epstein continued after the latter's 2008 conviction. But Starmer maintained that "none of us knew the depth of the darkness" of that relationship at the time.

A number of lawmakers said Starmer is ultimately responsible for the scandal.

"Keir Starmer has to take responsibility for his own terrible decisions," said Kemi Badenoch, leader of the opposition Conservative Party.

Mandelson, a former Cabinet minister, ambassador and elder statesman of the governing Labour Party, has not been arrested or charged.

Metropolitan Police officers searched Mandelson's London home and another property linked to him on Friday. Police said the investigation is complex and will require "a significant amount of further evidence gathering and analysis."

The U.K. police investigation centers on potential misconduct in public office, and Mandelson is not accused of any sexual offenses.

Starmer hadfired Mandelsonin September from his ambassadorial job over earlier revelations about his Epstein ties. But critics say the emails recently published by the U.S. Justice Department have brought serious concerns about Starmer's judgment to the fore. They argue that he should have known better than to appoint Mandelson in the first place.

The new revelations include documents suggesting Mandelson shared sensitive government information with Epstein after the 2008 global financial crisis. They also include records of payments totaling $75,000 in 2003 and 2004 from Epstein to accounts linked to Mandelson or his husband Reinaldo Avila da Silva.

Aside from his association with Epstein, Mandelson previously had to resign twice from senior government posts because of scandals over money or ethics.

Starmer had faced growing pressure over the past week to fire McSweeney, who is regarded as a key adviser in Downing Street and seen as a close ally of Mandelson.

Starmer on Sunday credited McSweeney as a central figure in running Labour's recent election campaign and the party's 2004 landslide victory. His statement did not mention the Mandelson scandal.

The controversial documentary aboutfirst lady Melania Trumpgrossed another $2.37 million in North American theaters in its second weekend of release, according to estimates shared Sunday, Feb. 8, by Amazon MGM Studios. This represents a decline of 67% from the movie's first weekend, bringing its domestic total to date to $13.35 million.

A 67% decline is considered a fairly large drop at the box office, generally indicating that devoted fans prioritized seeing the film early on and that there may not be a huge audience beyond that in theaters. But the second weekend of "Melania" also fell on Super Bowl weekend, which is traditionally a slow period for movie theaters.

The horror-thriller "Send Help," which debuted Jan. 30, repeated at No. 1 at the North American box office this weekend with another $10 million, according to Comscore estimates. "Melania" was in 10th place, below a pair of 2025 releases: Disney's animated smash "Zootopia 2" grossed $4 million, and the sci-fi epic "Avatar: Fire and Ash" collected an additional $3.5 million. Two new horror titles, "Dracula" and "The Strangers – Chapter 3," took in $4.5 million and $3.5 million, respectively.

"Melania," which follows the first lady in the 20 days leading up toPresident Donald Trump's2025 inauguration, is coming off a surprising theatrical debut of $7 million. "Melania" had been tracking to make $3 million to $5 million in its opening weekend.

Jeff Bock, senior media analyst for Exhibitor Relations, told USA TODAY ahead of the movie's release that any opening above $1 million would be a "huge number," suggesting "that a lot of folks who don't normally go to the movies went to this."

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Amazon MGM Studiospurchased "Melania" and a companion docuseries for $40 millionand reportedly spent$35 millionon marketing. The film is far from being profitable just yet, though Amazon will recoup some of its costs through ads and streaming service sign-ups.

The new "Melania" documentary had a splashy premiere at the Trump Kennedy Center in Washington on Jan. 29, 2026. See which celebrities and political figures walked the red carpet, starting with President Donald Trump first lady Melania Trump.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The first couple steps out for the world premiere.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> First lady Melania Trump

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> "Melania" director Brett Ratner

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Lisa Oz (from left), Mehmet Oz, Oliver Oz and Daphne Oz.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> "Melania" producer and first lady adviser Marc Beckman

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> House Speaker Mike Johnson and his wife Kelly.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Jennifer Rauchet

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Pete Hegseth kisses Jennifer Rauchet.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and his wife, former U.S. Homeland Security adviser Julia Nesheiwat.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Christie Mullin and Sen. Markwayne Mullin

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions of United States Richard Grenell

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Kathryn Burgum and Doug Burgum

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Kelly Loeffler and Jeffrey Sprecher

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Doug Collins and Lisa Collins

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Lee Zeldin and Diana Zeldin

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Brett Ratner (left) and Marc Beckman

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Melania Trump is chic in black at movie's Kennedy Center premiere

Thenew "Melania" documentaryhad a splashy premiere at the Trump Kennedy Center in Washington on Jan. 29, 2026. See which celebrities and political figures walked the red carpet, starting with President Donald Trumpfirst lady Melania Trump.

In a statement, Kevin Wilson, Amazon MGM Studios' head of domestic theatrical distribution, hailed the documentary's "strong theatrical performance" and said the release has built "momentum ahead of the film's eventual debut on Prime Video."

Directed byBrett Ratner, who was ousted from Hollywood in 2017 after six women accused him of sexual harassment, "Melania" wasalmost universally pannedby critics.USA TODAY's Brian Truittwrote that "while it does offer an extremely flattering view of all things Melania, outside of a few candid glimpses, you're not going to learn a lot about who she really is."

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, "Melania"received a dismal approval ratingof just 8% from critics. Audiences, though, have embraced it. "Melania" earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 99% from moviegoers who could verify that they purchased a ticket to see it, and audiences polled by the market research firm CinemaScoregave it a grade of A.

Contributing: Brian Truitt

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Melania' movie box office – How it performed in second weekend