By Betsy Klein, CNN

(CNN) — One of the more emotional moments in first lady Melania Trump’s new documentary comes when she meets Aviva Siegel, a former hostage held by Hamas who’s advocating for the release of her husband, in January 2025.

On Wednesday, Trump welcomed the couple to the White House, and told observers that they could see more of that meeting in her film — a callout for the multimillion dollar project that is alarming some advocates and ethics experts, even though there are no rules barring her from promoting it at the White House.

“It was emotional meeting, and it is captured on camera and available to see in my film, ‘Melania,’” Trump said in remarks in the Blue Room at an event meant to celebrate the Siegels’ release. (Keith Siegel, who was also captured by Hamas on October 7, 2023, was freed in February 2025.)

Asked by CNN whether she felt it was appropriate to use an official White House event to tout her film, Trump said Wednesday’s meeting came at the Siegels’ request and was “not promotion.”

“This is not promotion. We are here celebrating the release of the hostages, of Aviva and Keith. They were in Washington, DC, and they called me. They said they would like to come over to thank me and to give hugs,” she said.

“That’s why we are here. It has nothing to do with promotion.”

Earlier during Wednesday’s sit-down, Keith Siegel thanked Trump for the role he said she played in bringing him home and discussed his efforts to work in humanitarian aid in Kenya as part of his recovery process. Then, he congratulated the first lady on her new movie.

“Looking forward to seeing it, and so grateful for you deciding to have Aviva be a part of your movie,” he said.

Aviva Siegel thanked Trump “for putting me in your special ‘Melania’ film.”

The office of the first lady and Trump’s private office did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on whether she did any private outreach or advocacy on behalf of hostages captured by Hamas over the past year.

But for hostage advocates and ethics experts, the focus on the film on Wednesday was jarring.

“There’s gratitude for the role the administration played in bringing the hostages home, and, with an administration that has exploited aspects of the presidency for personal benefit, deep discomfort with that potentially happening here,” said Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

Using the “role hostages played to promote a film,” she added, “obviously raises major concerns.”

It’s not illegal for a sitting first lady to profit from her position — Trump signed a roughly $40 million deal with Amazon MGM on the film documenting the 20 days around her husband’s 2025 inauguration — nor is it illegal for her to personally promote it in the White House. (There are, however, rules prohibiting her staff from doing so.)

Still, ethics experts questioned the optics of Trump using a meeting at the White House to tout her film.

“The White House is the representation of American government. This is paid for by taxpayers and is one of the symbols of public service. … When you see it being used as part of this business deal that’s bringing in millions of dollars for the first lady, it makes us and a lot of people uncomfortable,” said Jordan Libowitz, spokesperson for CREW, or Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

He added: “It’s supposed to be above that. It’s a symbol of something greater, something beyond money making.”

The film — which earned about $7 million at the box office in its opening weekend — has already faced questions about political ethics and Amazon’s motivations for inking the multimillion dollar deal, which also included a massive $35 million marketing budget.

“I’m not involved,” President Donald Trump told reporters on the red carpet last week when asked whether the film constituted corporate corruption.

“That was done with my wife,” he said.

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