Paul Thomas Anderson has demanded that a track from his 2017 film Phantom Thread be removed from Brett Ratner’s Melania. The composer of the piece, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, released a joint statement with the director. The duo alleged that Greenwood had not been consulted about the use of the track. The rights to the song belong to Universal.
Melania is a documentary directed by Rush Hour alum Brett Ratner. The film acts as his first major project since he was accused of sexual misconduct during the MeToo movement in 2017. Artists such as Olivia Munn and Elliot Page were among those who accused Ratner. Anna Paquin (X-Men) allegedly observed the Page’s ordeal firsthand.
In the joint statement. Anderson and Greenwood stated that while Universal owns the rights to the track, they violated a composer agreement. According to the statement, any use of the track by a third party must receive the green light from Greenwood. This process was not followed for the track’s use in Melania.
Jonny Greenwood and Paul Thomas Anderson are demanding that Greenwood’s score for Phantom Thread be removed from Melania Trump’s documentary.
“It has come to our attention that a piece of music from Phantom Thread has been used in the Melania documentary. While Jonny Greenwood… pic.twitter.com/TzWEesN5wu
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) February 9, 2026
Part of the statement, as reported by Variety, reads, “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.” Variety obtained the statement from Greenwood’s representative.
Phantom Thread, the film to which the track belongs, was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Score. The film ended up winning in the Best Costume Design category.
Melania seems to be tripping from one controversy to another. The film’s box office collection has so far failed to recoup the film’s production and marketing costs. Anderson and Greenwood’s demands have only strengthened the case against the film for a lot of audiences.
Amazon MGM has spent extravagantly on the documentary. Speculations have been rife about whether this is the e-commerce giant’s bid to cozy up to the Trump administration. The exact nature of how the use of Barbara Rose violates an agreement has been kept under wraps by the concerned parties. It is unclear what legal remedies the director and the musician can pursue against the documentary.
Melania follows the First Lady of the United States as she gears up for Donald Trump‘s second inauguration. The film has found itself in some hot water with critics, but fan reactions on websites like Rotten Tomatoes tell a different story. There have been allegations of manipulation against the site when it comes to the audience score.
The “verified” Rotten Tomatoes audience reviews for the Melania doc all come from new accounts that have never posted before. Who is paying for these bots? pic.twitter.com/KCYVCVK7LE
— Matt Shea (@Matt_A_Shea) January 31, 2026
Rotten Tomatoes has issued a statement dismissing the possibility. They revealed that all the reviews are verified against ticket purchases from Fandango. This has not stopped chatter on X, where users have observed certain discrepancies. Multiple users have said that reviews for the film seem to be coming from only fresh accounts.
