Beyonce sent a cease-and-desist letter to President Trump for using the song «Freedom»
23 august 2024 в 04:28
Donald Trump did not receive permission to use the song «Freedom» from Beyoncé's 2016 Lemonade album in a 13-second video, Rolling Stone reported on Wednesday, August 21.
After Stephen Chung, a representative of the former president, posted a video on his X account showing Trump exiting a plane on Tuesday, August 20, to the music of the Grammy-nominated song, with the caption «Landing in Michigan!!», the singer of «Say My Name» sent a letter demanding that the usage be stopped.
The use of the song, which also featured Kendrick Lamar, quickly gained attention online, especially considering that Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, with Beyoncé's permission, used it at several campaign events. Her supporters were even seen wearing cowboy hats and «Cowboy Kamala» bandanas, referencing Beyoncé's 2024 album Cowboy Carter.
Additionally, the Harris-Walz campaign released a new ad featuring the song «Freedom», - with actor Jeffrey Wright as the narrator: «What America do we want? One where we’re divided, angry, oppressed? Let’s go! We’re Americans! Fascism? We defeated it. The moon? We landed on it. The future? We’re building it. Freedom? No one loves it more».
As of today, August 22, the Trump campaign quietly removed the video.
While Beyoncé has not officially endorsed Harris, the vice president and her husband Doug Emhoff were gifted tickets to Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour in Maryland by the artist herself last year.
Throughout his political career, the «Apprentice» star has struggled to secure artists willing to provide their music for his campaign. In fact, several have warned him for years about using their tracks without permission.
Earlier this month, Trump’s campaign was criticized by Celine Dion for using her 1997 hit «My Heart Will Go On» at a rally in Montana.
And just last week, the heirs of the late singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes sued the Republican presidential candidate and his campaign for alleged unauthorized use of the song «Hold On, I’m Coming» in campaign videos. Hayes' family’s lawyers claim that Trump should pay the heirs $ 150,000 for each alleged unauthorized use of the song, which they say the Trump campaign used over 100 times.
The family of the late Tom Petty also condemned the use of the musician’s song during Trump’s 2020 campaign.
Since 2016, the Rolling Stones have repeatedly urged Trump to «stop using» their music. However, Trump continued to use the band’s song «You Can’t Always Get What You Want» despite their objections
After Stephen Chung, a representative of the former president, posted a video on his X account showing Trump exiting a plane on Tuesday, August 20, to the music of the Grammy-nominated song, with the caption «Landing in Michigan!!», the singer of «Say My Name» sent a letter demanding that the usage be stopped.
The use of the song, which also featured Kendrick Lamar, quickly gained attention online, especially considering that Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, with Beyoncé's permission, used it at several campaign events. Her supporters were even seen wearing cowboy hats and «Cowboy Kamala» bandanas, referencing Beyoncé's 2024 album Cowboy Carter.
Additionally, the Harris-Walz campaign released a new ad featuring the song «Freedom», - with actor Jeffrey Wright as the narrator: «What America do we want? One where we’re divided, angry, oppressed? Let’s go! We’re Americans! Fascism? We defeated it. The moon? We landed on it. The future? We’re building it. Freedom? No one loves it more».
As of today, August 22, the Trump campaign quietly removed the video.
While Beyoncé has not officially endorsed Harris, the vice president and her husband Doug Emhoff were gifted tickets to Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour in Maryland by the artist herself last year.
Throughout his political career, the «Apprentice» star has struggled to secure artists willing to provide their music for his campaign. In fact, several have warned him for years about using their tracks without permission.
Earlier this month, Trump’s campaign was criticized by Celine Dion for using her 1997 hit «My Heart Will Go On» at a rally in Montana.
And just last week, the heirs of the late singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes sued the Republican presidential candidate and his campaign for alleged unauthorized use of the song «Hold On, I’m Coming» in campaign videos. Hayes' family’s lawyers claim that Trump should pay the heirs $ 150,000 for each alleged unauthorized use of the song, which they say the Trump campaign used over 100 times.
The family of the late Tom Petty also condemned the use of the musician’s song during Trump’s 2020 campaign.
Since 2016, the Rolling Stones have repeatedly urged Trump to «stop using» their music. However, Trump continued to use the band’s song «You Can’t Always Get What You Want» despite their objections
© Artemenko Olga
