Spokesperson for Rolling Stones tells Guardian band did not liaise with Marc Beckman and his team on use of Gimme Shelter in first lady documentary
A source close to Mick Jagger has cast doubt on a claim by Melania producer Marc Beckman that his team was closely involved with the singer over the use of a Rolling Stones song in the film.
The film, which follows the first lady in the 20 days leading up to Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025, opens with a sequence in Mar-a-Lago soundtracked to the Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter. Despite being owned by music company ABKCO, Beckman told Variety that Jagger “was actually involved” and “gave us his blessing”.
“We worked very close with them on that,” Beckman continued. “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.”
Speaking off the record, the source close to Jagger said he felt scepticism was necessary as the producer was attempting to promote the movie. A spokesperson for the Rolling Stones also told the Guardian the deal to use Gimme Shelter in the film was made exclusively between rights holders ABKCO and Melania’s producers, and that the band had nothing to do with it.
