Former First Lady Melania Trump’s upcoming memoir publisher reportedly tried to put a $250,000 price tag on an interview request with her.
CNN said it contacted Skyhorse Publishing almost two months ago asking to speak with Trump about her book, Melania, which will be released on October 8.
The media outlet said that following a few exchanges, the publisher last week emailed a ‘Confidentiality and Nondisclosure Agreement’ that stated, ‘CNN shall pay a licensing fee of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000).’
CNN said that it did not sign the agreement.
Days later, Skyhorse Publishing reportedly claimed that the huge fee had been a mistake, when asked about it by another CNN journalist.
Skyhorse president and publisher Tony Lyons told the network on Thursday: ‘Neither Melania nor anyone from her team knew anything about the NDA and the document that was sent reflected an internal miscommunication.
‘Had CNN signed an NDA, in the normal course of business, we would have approached Melania’s team to discuss (the specifics).’
A spokesperson for the former first lady did not immediately comment on the matter.
The $250,000 is similar to what Trump has been paid for public engagements.
In August, her husband Donald Trump’s financial disclosure revealed that her second highest income source after NFT collectibles was $237,500 she earned from speaking at an LGBTQ Republican organization’s event. She also received $250,000 for a December 2022 Log Cabin Republican event, according to records.
The ex-first lady has only done a sit-down interview on her memoir with Fox News, which had personal and old family pictures.
Fox News told CNN: ‘We did not pay any fee whatsoever for the interview, including licensing fees for photos.’
In the interview, she opened up about meeting the real estate mogul and their first date, and how motherhood changed her, among other topics.
The CNN report was published hours after the former first lady shared a video promoting her book on X (formerly Twitter) in which she defended women’s right to abortion, defying her husband’s stance.
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