On February 8, 2026, popular film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes publicly addressed widespread claims that the unusually high audience scores for the documentary “Melania” were fake or manipulated. The film, directed by Brett Ratner and chronicling the life of First Lady Melania Trump, has drawn both intense criticism from professional reviewers and unusually strong praise from audience members.
Critics on the site gave the documentary a very low rating — around 6 to 8 percent — while audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter soared as high as 99 percent, creating the largest disparity between critic and audience reception in the platform’s history. Some media reports and online speculation suggested the audience ratings were the result of bots, coordinated brigading, or bulk ticket purchases aimed at inflating the score. ([turn0news1]; [turn0news3])
Rotten Tomatoes’ parent company, Versant, denied that the reviews were manipulated, stating that the high audience ratings were based on “verified” ticket purchases through its ticketing partner Fandango. The company said the Popcornmeter reflects reviews only from users who have purchased tickets, and that there is no evidence of bot activity or artificial manipulation of scores. Variety and other outlets quoted Versant representatives emphasizing the verification process behind the audience ratings. ([turn0news10]; [turn0news41])
Despite the official defense, critics of the film and independent observers have continued to question how such a dramatic discrepancy between professional and audience opinions — widely labeled as one of the biggest gaps ever recorded — could arise without coordinated online behavior. Multiple outlets noted that critics described the documentary as heavily promotional and lacking substantive insight, while audience enthusiasm remained unusually high for a heavily panned release. ([turn0search19]; [turn0search25])
The controversy has sparked broader discussions about the reliability of online audience ratings, the influence of social and political communities on film reception, and the role that verified‑review systems should play in public perception of media. Rotten Tomatoes’ public response aims to reassure users of the integrity of its verification process, even as debate continues among critics, audiences, and industry watchers.
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