Viral Craigslist post suggests Melania documentary can’t fill seats
Plus: Nicki Minaj kisses the ring, gets citizenship.
Greetings!
Here are the latest trending internet culture stories today:
Brett Ratner’s documentary about Melania Trump is having problems filling movie theater seats, as evidenced by Craigslist.
Fans (and former fans) of Nicki Minaj are reckoning with her recent appearance with Donald Trump—and the “gold card” she received in return.
Odessa A’zion was announced to star in a movie, was called out for taking a role from a Latinx actor, and dropped out of it—all in the past 48 hours.
See you in the next edition,
— W.J.
⚡️ Today in Internet Culture
“Free tickets + $50”: Craigslist ad offers cash to anyone willing to sit through the “Melania” documentary
Amazon’s new documentary Melania may be headed for an opening-weekend disaster. As early ticket sales appear sluggish nationwide, a Craigslist ad found by producer Nate Gilbert offering free tickets plus $50 to anyone willing to sit through the film in Boston has gone viral.
“Attend MELANIA documentary at any Boston area theatre during opening weekend (this upcoming weekend),” the Craigslist ad reads. “Free tickets + $50 per seat occupied.” Experts predict an opening weekend of $5 million max for the $75 million film.
“What a surprise”: Nicki Minaj’s fans grapple with Trump appearance and gifted Trump Gold Card
Nicki Minaj recently spoke at a Jan 28 event promoting government-backed investment accounts for babies after President Donald Trump invited her to join him on stage. At that same event, after posing for many photos, the rapper received a “gold card” and shared a photo of it on X.
She said of her citizenship, “You would think that with the millions of dollars that I’ve paid in taxes to this country that I would have been given an honorary citizenship many, many, many thousands of years ago.” And then came the reactions…
“Did she read the book or not?”: Odessa A’zion quits A24’s “Deep Cuts” after outrage—but some fans aren’t buying her explanation
Actress Odessa A’zion has exited A24’s upcoming film Deep Cuts after online backlash erupted over her casting. Fans of Holly Brickley’s novel accused the project of whitewashing a Latina character, prompting widespread outrage across social media—including some pointed tweets from A’zion’s X fan account.
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“Based on a true brand strategy.” -Agnes Fartmore, The Brewtonia Gazette
That Craigslist ad paying people to watch is such a clear signal of how hard its struggling to find an audience. A $75 million docmentary that needs paid seat-fillers in Boston opening weekend is pretty wild. Makes you wonder if the team misread the audience apetite completely.