A source close to Mick Jagger is denying claims made by “Melania” producer Marc Beckman that The Rolling Stones gave permission to use their music in the documentary.
The opening of the film, which follows Melania Trump in the days before her husband Donald Trump’s 2025 Presidential inauguration, is soundtracked by the Rolling Stones’ song “Gimme Shelter.”
While ABKCO Music & Records owns the rights to the track, Beckman told Variety in a recent interview that Jagger “was actually involved” and “gave us his blessing” to feature the song in the movie.
“We worked very close with them on that,” Beckman said. “And that wasn’t a political thing. With the Stones, they were just like, ‘Oh, you’re making a nice movie.’ They were like able to get over the hurdle. It’s not politics – it’s just some story about some woman that is going from being a civilian back into the White House, and this movie looks cool and Brett [Ratner] is doing a cool job and Melania Trump is focused, and let’s do it. We showed it to them and they were impressed.”
Now, The Guardian is reporting that a source close to Jagger is sceptical of Beckman’s claims, noting that the producer may have said those things in an attempt to promote the documentary.
The publication reached out to the band, and a spokesperson for The Rolling Stones told them the deal to use “Gimme Shelter” was made between ABKCO and the producers of “Melania,” and that the band were not involved in the decision.
The Rolling Stones previously objected to the use of their music at Trump rallies, joining many other bands and artists including Guns N’ Roses, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Jack White, Queen, R.E.M., Foo Fighters, Elton John, the estate of Prince and Tom Petty, and more.
In his interview with Variety, Beckman revealed that Guns N’ Roses, Grace Jones, and Prince’s estate had also been asked for permission to put their music in “Melania,” but they all refused.
“The guys from Guns N’ Roses split down the middle politically,” Beckman said. “There was a beautiful song we wanted to use, and one of the guys – I don’t want to name, it’s not fair – said, ‘You got it. Go.’ And the other one was basically like, ‘There’s just no way.’ We needed everybody’s approval to get it in the film. So Guns N’ Roses was definitely a disappointment for us; we all have a lot of respect for Guns N’ Roses.”
