Fresh, stale, or politics? The Melania doc's Rotten Tomatoes score, explained episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 20, 2026 · 24 MIN

Fresh, stale, or politics? The Melania doc's Rotten Tomatoes score, explained

from Endless Thread · host WBUR

Melania, a documentary about the first lady, has a 10 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, but a 90 percent score from audience members, an unusual discrepancy that raises the question, how did Rotten Tomatoes get those scores anyway? Show notes: The 'Melania' movie audience: Older white women (NPR) Melania’s Movie Shows Signs of Bulk Buying to Boost Box Office: Guru (The Daily Beast) You Can Thank 'Rush Hour' for Rotten Tomatoes (Vice) Rotten Tomatoes Owner Says ‘Melania’ 99% Audience Score Is Not ‘Bot Manipulation’: ‘Reviews Are Verified… Users Bought a Ticket to the Film’ (Variety) Credits: This episode was produced by Kalyani Saxena and Grace Tatter. It was co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Kalyani Saxena, and edited by Meg Cramer. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Feb 20, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Fresh, stale, or politics? The Melania doc's Rotten Tomatoes score, explained

0:00 24:41

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Endless Thread?

This episode is 24 minutes long.

When was this Endless Thread episode published?

This episode was published on February 20, 2026.

Can I download this Endless Thread episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!