Here’s a shocking revelation that’s stirring up the internet: The audience score for the Melania Trump documentary on Rotten Tomatoes is a staggering 99%, despite the film’s abysmal 8% critic rating. But here’s where it gets controversial—Rotten Tomatoes insists there’s “no bot manipulation” involved, claiming all reviews are from verified ticket buyers. Yet, not everyone is buying it.
The movie review platform recently addressed the glaring disparity between critic and audience scores, stating that its ‘Popcornmeter’ score is solely based on reviews from users who purchased tickets. A spokesperson emphasized, ‘There has been NO bot manipulation on the audience reviews for the Melania documentary. These are VERIFIED reviews, confirmed by ticket purchases.’ Sounds airtight, right? Wrong. Skeptics are calling foul.
As the film’s box office numbers plummeted—dropping 67% in its second weekend with a 10-day total of $14.5 million against a $75 million budget—social media erupted with accusations of foul play. One user on X pointed out, ‘The “verified” Rotten Tomatoes audience reviews for the Melania doc all come from new accounts that have never posted before. Who’s funding these bots?’ Another observer noted that these accounts not only had no review history but also purchased tickets exclusively through Fandango, raising even more eyebrows.
And this is the part most people miss—the film’s 99% audience score is higher than The Godfather’s, while its critic score is just 1% above Gigli, a notorious box office flop. Jimmy Kimmel didn’t hold back on his show, quipping, ‘I’m sure Donald J. Corleone had nothing to do with that at all. We need to get to the bottom of this!’ He even joked about sending in the FBI to investigate ticket machines and popcorn buckets.
But let’s dig deeper. Reports suggest bulk ticket purchases were made, with tickets distributed for free to Republican activists and senior citizen homes. Kimmel reminded viewers of a similar tactic in 2019, when the Republican National Committee bought $100,000 worth of Don Jr.’s book to artificially boost its bestseller status. ‘No one has ever read it,’ Kimmel joked. ‘It might be filled with blank pages—we’ll never know.’
So, is this a genuine outpouring of love for the documentary, or a coordinated effort to manipulate public perception? Rotten Tomatoes stands by its verification process, but the suspicious patterns in the reviews have many crying foul. Are these glowing reviews a reflection of real audience sentiment, or is something more sinister at play?
What do you think? Is Rotten Tomatoes’ verification system foolproof, or is there room for manipulation? Let’s spark a debate—share your thoughts in the comments below!
