Tensions are escalating between the United States and South Africa, Africa's largest economy.
According to major foreign media including the BBC on the 1st (local time), the documentary film "Melania," which opened worldwide on the 30th of last month, was not screened in South Africa. The film features first lady Melania, the wife of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Filmfinity, a South African distributor, told the New York Times (NYT) that it "decided not to release the film in South Africa in light of recent developments," but did not specify what those developments were. This has prompted analysis that the deterioration in relations between South Africa and the United States affected the release.
Earlier, the South African government said it would not attend the G20 Leaders Summit on Finanical Markets and the World Economy in the United States this year due to opposition from the Trump administration last month. South Africa said it was temporarily "withdrawing" from the G20 and would attend again when the United Kingdom assumes the G20 presidency next year.
However, starting last month, the United States, which has taken the G20 presidency for 2026, excluded South Africa from G20-related meetings and instead included Poland. Because of this, there is analysis that although South Africa voluntarily announced plans not to participate in the G20, in effect it was refused attendance by the United States.
Bilateral relations began to deteriorate sharply after President Trump took office in January last year. Since early last year, Trump has criticized the "land expropriation law" introduced by South Africa to address historical inequality as discrimination against white people, repeatedly claiming that white farmers are being persecuted and killed.
Since then, the Trump administration has been recognizing white South Africans as refugees and helping them settle in the United States, and late last year the South African government conducted a surprise inspection of an organization that assists refugee applications by white South Africans to go to the United States.