Melania Trump’s much-discussed documentary will not be shown in South African cinemas.
According to the New York Times, “Melania” — scheduled to open worldwide on Friday and already a highly contentious film — has been pulled from theaters in the country by the local distributor.
“Based on recent developments, we’ve taken the decision to not go ahead with a theatrical release in territory,” said Filmfinity’s head of sales and marketing Thobashan Govindarajulu to South African outlet News24, who first reported the news.
While Govindarajulu didn’t say what the recent developments were, he asserted that the move was “our decision” and that it hadn’t been pressurized into doing so. That said, the decision does come amid rising tensions between Donald Trump and the South African government after the U.S president criticized the country, making widely discredited claims that a genocide is being committed against its white population.