News of a behind-the-scenes documentary focusing on incoming first lady Melania Trump has sparked controversy ahead of its release later this year.

Amazon Prime Video won exclusive licensing rights for a streaming and theatrical release, the Jeff Bezos-owned company announced Sunday US time.

Filming is already under way on the documentary, directed by Brett Ratner. The company said in a statement the film would give viewers an “unprecedented behind-the-scenes look” at Melania Trump and also promised a “truly unique story”. 

The former and now future first lady also released a self-titled memoir late last year. Her husband Donald Trump takes office on January 20.

But while all things Melania somehow attract speculation and attention, the links to Bezos and the choice or its director have raised eyebrows.

For director Ratner, this is his first major project since facing allegations of sexual harassment eight years ago in the early days of the #MeToo movement by several female associates, including actor Olivia Munn.

Ratner, best known for such films as the Rush Hour franchise, X-Men: The Last Stand and The Family Man, has consistently denied the accusations.

In an interview with America’s ABC News in 2018, the Melania Trump – then-first lady – said that when people accused others of harassment they needed to provide proof.

“You cannot just say to somebody, ‘I was sexually assaulted, or you did that to me,’ because sometimes the media goes too far and the way they portray some stories — it’s not correct, it’s not right,” she told the news outlet.

Bezos support

The film is the latest connection between Amazon founder Bezos and Donald Trump.

Amazon in December announced plans to donate $US1 million ($1.6 million) to the President-elect’s inauguration fund, and said that it would also stream Trump’s inauguration on its Prime Video service, a separate in-kind donation worth another estimated $US1 million .

The two men had been at odds in the past. During his first term, Trump criticised Amazon and railed against the political coverage at The Washington Post, which Bezos also owns.

But he has struck a more conciliatory tone recently as Amazon and other tech companies seek to improve their relationship with the incoming president.

In December, Bezos expressed some excitement about potential regulatory cutbacks in the coming years and said he was “optimistic” about Trump’s second term.

Bezos in October did not allow the Post to endorse a presidential candidate, a move that led to tens of thousands of people cancelling their subscriptions and to protests from journalists with a deep history at the newspaper.

This weekend, a cartoonist quit her job after an editor rejected her sketch of the newspaper’s owner and other media executives bowing before the president-elect.

Melania, Donald Trump’s third wife, has been an enigmatic figure since her husband announced he was running in the 2016 election.

She had sought to maintain her privacy even as she served as first lady, focusing on raising their son, Barron, and promoting her “Be Best” initiative to support the “social, emotional, and physical health of children”. 

While she appeared at her husband’s campaign launch event for 2024 and attended the closing night of the Republican National Convention this summer, she has otherwise stayed off the campaign trail, though the demands of again being first lady may dictate a higher public profile after Inauguration Day.

-with AAP