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By Alice Gibbs
Senior Reporter
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Netflix users have been left confused after noticing that Michelle Obama’s 2020 documentary Becoming appears under the streaming platform’s kids category.
The renewed interest in the former first lady's show appears to have been buoyed by Melania Trump’s documentary Melania debuting in theaters.
Comments about the movie being in the kids section quickly spread across Threads, with some users encouraging each other to elevate Becoming in the platform’s rankings, while others were frustrated by the movie being included in the kids section.
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Newsweek reached out to Netflix via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The discussion around Becoming’s placement on Netflix has sparked wider questions about how streaming platforms categorize political or biographical content—and how those decisions shape what audiences see first.
Some viewers raised concerns online that the kids label means the documentary is being surfaced to the wrong audience and why its visibility seems to have shifted at a politically sensitive moment.
With Melania Trump’s Melania documentary released last week, the contrast between how the two former first ladies’ films are positioned has heightened the debate.
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What To Know
Becoming, released in 2020, documents Michelle Obama’s 34‑city book tour following her memoir of the same name.
Although it remains searchable in Netflix’s adult categories, users noted in recent days that it was also ranking under the kids section, where it currently sits at No. 4 in the U.S. Kids Top 10.
The renewed attention coincides with the theatrical release of Melania, a documentary produced by Amazon MGM Studios that follows Melania Trump through the preparations for the 2025 presidential inauguration. The film premiered last week at the renamed Trump–Kennedy Center, drawing a range of political figures and public personalities.
Melania had an opening weekend box office gross of $7 million, making it the biggest opening weekend for a documentary in a decade.
On Facebook, some users explained that they have been watching the Becoming documentary intentionally over the weekend to coincide with the release of Melania Trump's movie.
Last week, people shared how they were planning to boost the ratings for Michelle Obama’s 2020 documentary in response.
“That might be because many of us were watching it on all our sub-accounts. It never occurred to me that it would be featured on a kids Top 10. I played it on all four sub-accounts, and my primary account, on every TV in the house, on repeat all weekend,” one Facebook user said.
What People Are Saying
YouTube chat show host Sarah O’Connell wrote on Threads: “Netflix has taken First Lady Michelle Obama’s documentary Becoming out of the U.S. adult Top 10 by recategorizing it as a 'Kids film,' where it’s now listed at 4th in the Kids Top 10, which you need to go to the Kids section to see.”
Author Babak Seyed Shakeri wrote on Threads: “Netflix is oppressing a woman of color’s success to protect the feelings white woman. This is just sick. This was trending number 1 this past week, so Netflix moved it to the Kids section where It’s now number 4. This is all done to not upset Trump and Melania because Netflix needs the government to approve their Warner Brother merger.”
Jennifer Basquiat-Jones, professor at the College of Southern Nevada, wrote on Threads: “@Netflix FIX THIS. Please don’t join the bootlickers. Michelle Obama’s documentary, Becoming, has been rising up your top 10 films in the U.S. list. Yesterday, it was #6. Today, it’s off the list entirely because you’ve reclassified it as a kids’ movie. It’s currently #4 there (which I imagine is less embarrassing to your billionaire overlords). We see you. And cancellations and boycotts work. Just ask Target. You’re on borrowed time. FIX THIS.”
What Happens Next
Netflix has not yet commented on why Becoming has appeared in the Kids Top 10.
Shifts in Netflix’s U.S. Top 10 lists—both in adult and kids sections—will indicate whether the online discussion affects Becoming’s visibility or ranking in the coming days.
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