Melania Trump strips all references to her plans to profit off being First Lady from defamation lawsuit

Melania Trump revised her defamation lawsuit against Mail Online after she was widely criticized for describing her role as the First Lady as a “unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to launch “multi-million dollar business relationships” as “one of the most photographed women in the world," the New York Post reports.

Trump’s lawyers filed an amended complaint in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday, the Post reports. The original defamation lawsuit was filed against the UK-based online magazine after it alleged the president’s wife was formerly an escort. It argued the First Lady suffered $150 million in damages because she could no longer use her name to enrich herself.

“Plaintiff had the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person…to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world,” the original lawsuit read.

“These product categories would have included, among other things, apparel, accessories, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care, skin care and fragrance,” it continued.

In the amended lawsuit, Trump’s lawyers removed the “product categories” that were allegedly damaged by the Mail Online article, which included “apparel, accessories, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care, skin care and fragrance.”

Richard Painter, former ethics adviser to George W. Bush, told the AP the the First Lady’s charges were a “clear breach of rules about using her government position for private gain.”

“This is a very serious situation where she says she intends to make a lot of money,” Painter added. “That ought to be repudiated by the White House or investigated by Congress.”

A spokeswoman for Trump denied the First Lady hoped to make money off her role in the government.