Source close to Rolling Stones disputes Melania producer’s claim that Mick Jagger ‘gave his blessing’ to use song | film

A source close to Mick Jagger has questioned the veracity of Mick Jagger’s claims Melania’s producer Mark Beckman said his team was closely involved with the singer over the use of the Rolling Stones song in the film.

The film, which follows the First Lady in the 20 days leading up to Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025, begins with a sequence set to the Mar-a-Lago soundtrack by the Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter. Despite being owned by music label ABKCO, Beckman told Variety that Jagger “was really involved” and “gave us his blessing.”

“We worked very closely with them on this,” Beekman continued. “And it wasn’t a political thing. With the Stones, they were like, ‘Oh, you’re making a beautiful movie.’ They were able to get over the hurdle. It’s not political — it’s just a story about a woman going from being a civilian to the White House, and this movie looks great. Brett [Ratner] You’re doing a great job and Melania Trump is focused, and let’s do this. We showed it to them and they were impressed.”

Speaking off the record, the source close to Jagger said he felt the suspicion was necessary because the producer was trying to promote the film. A spokesperson for the Rolling Stones also told the Guardian that the deal to use Gimme Shelter in the film was made exclusively between rights holders ABKCO and Melania’s producers, and that the band had nothing to do with it.

The Rolling Stones are among those artists who have previously objected to the use of their songs at pro-Donald Trump rallies. Others include Guns N’ Roses. Grace Jones, the estate of Prince, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Adele, Queen, Reem, Elton John, ABBA, Jack White, Celine Dion, Foo Fighters and the estates of Isaac Hayes and Tom Petty.

Beckman also told Variety that the top three were also approached with the intention of using their music on Melania, but they declined for political reasons.

He explained that the members of Guns N’ Roses were divided over the decision, which had to be unanimous, while Jones “apparently couldn’t get over the political hurdle, despite the fact that the film is not a political film.” Although the rights holders to the requested Prince song were in favor of its use, the lawyer managing his estate vetoed the request, saying: “Prince would never want his song to be associated with Donald Trump.”

Beckman said he protested that the movie “is not a Donald Trump movie! He comes into the movie every now and then, but it’s all about Melania. It’s not political. And this guy blocked it. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

The Village People YMCA anthem is a staple at Trump rallies and appears on Melania’s soundtrack, as does Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean, which Melania says is her favorite song by her favorite artist.

In addition to Jackson’s version, the audience hears an impromptu cover of the First Lady and Ratner as they duet in the back of a limousine.

In an interview with Variety, Beckman – who was an advisor to Melania Trump for 25 years – spoke – He also discussed the quandary over using a song from Jonny Greenwood’s soundtrack to Phantom Thread. Greenwood and director Paul Thomas Anderson requested the track be removed, citing the lack of notice given to Greenwood by rights holder Universal. The music currently remains in Ratner’s film, and Beckman said he believes it will remain so “forever, regardless of the infrastructure that delivers the content.”

Beckman attributed Greenwood’s distaste to “just part of the unfortunate time we live in. We’ve gone out and made a beautiful movie that doesn’t get into any kind of political politics or anything like that.” He also said that the dispute had not affected his Radiohead fanbase, saying that he would continue to “listen to their music every day.”

Amazon paid $40m (£29.6m) for the rights to Melania and spent $35m (£25.9m) on marketing. The film opened earlier this month and has so far grossed around $16.4m (£12.1m) worldwide, 98% of which comes from the US.

The film grossed a better-than-expected $7 million (£5.2 million) in the US in its first weekend before falling 67% in its second week. In the UK, it opened at number 29 before falling 88% week-on-week to number 62. There are currently no UK release dates available for the film.

Beckman addressed the record disparity between the film’s critics’ rating on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes and the scores received by audience members (who can verify by purchasing tickets via Fandango).

“What really is the job of a critic today?” He said. “It’s worse than bias. It’s like they’re voting, with political ideology first. I read that some critics didn’t even talk about the movie; they only talked about President Trump. That’s unfortunately where we are today in society.”