Fresh, stale, or politics? The Melania doc's Rotten Tomatoes score, explained

Endless Thread

WBUR

Reddit, Technology

4.1 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2026

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Melania, a documentary about the first lady, has a 10 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, but a 90 percent score from audience members, an unusual discrepancy that raises the question, how did Rotten Tomatoes get those scores anyway?

Show notes:

The 'Melania' movie audience: Older white women (NPR)
Melania’s Movie Shows Signs of Bulk Buying to Boost Box Office: Guru (The Daily Beast)
You Can Thank 'Rush Hour' for Rotten Tomatoes (Vice)
Rotten Tomatoes Owner Says ‘Melania’ 99% Audience Score Is Not ‘Bot Manipulation’: ‘Reviews Are Verified… Users Bought a Ticket to the Film’ (Variety)

Credits: This episode was produced by Kalyani Saxena and Grace Tatter. It was co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Kalyani Saxena, and edited by Meg Cramer. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus.

Transcript

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