by Daniel Johnson
August 28, 2024
The Trump campaign and the Foo Fighters are disputing whether or not the Trump campaign has permission to use the band’s music at the campaign’s rallies.
The Trump campaign and the Foo Fighters are disputing whether or not the Trump campaign has permission to use the band’s music at the campaign’s rallies.
According to Entertainment Weekly, after former president Donald Trump’s campaign used the Foo Fighters 1998 hit song “My Hero” to welcome the endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in Glendale, Arizona, the band said they never consented to the use of their music by the Trump campaign.
The Trump campaign, however, chose to respond on social media. Trump’s campaign manager, Steven Cheung, posted a cheeky message on Twitter/X directed at the band, mashing up a pair of the band’s song titles, “It’s Times Like These facts matter, don’t be a Pretender.”
According to The Independent, there may be evidence that supports the Trump campaign claim, but that permission did not come from the band, but rather from BMI’s Songview service.
The Foo Fighters, however, told Entertainment Weekly via a representative that even if the Trump campaign had asked them directly, the band’s answer would have been a no.
“Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were they would not have granted it. Also, any royalties received as a result of this use will be donated to the Harris/Walz campaign.”
Dave Grohl, the band’s frontman, has been vocal about his dislike for the former president, telling GQ Magazine in 2018 that he was ashamed that Trump was the president of the United States and calling him a “massive jerk.”
“Today, the American Dream is broken. I’ve probably traveled internationally more than our current president (Trump), and the one thing I understand that he doesn’t is that the world isn’t as big as you think it is. It is all in your neighborhood. India, Asia, and Iceland aren’t other solar systems. I am ashamed of our president. I feel apologetic for it when I travel. I am ashamed of our president. The thing about Trump that stings the most is this: He just seems like a massive jerk.”
In 2008, they similarly rejected the use of their song by Republican presidential candidate John McCain, issuing a statement decrying his use of “My Hero,” which sounds almost identical to their issues with the Trump campaign.
“It’s frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property. The saddest thing about this is that ‘My Hero’ was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song.”
The Foo Fighters join a growing list of musicians who are not happy about Trump using their music in rallies. On August 22, Rolling Stone reported that Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé’s record label, reportedly threatened to issue a cease and desist to Trump’s campaign over their use of “Freedom,” her Lemonade collaboration with Kendrick Lamar, which she has allowed the Harris campaign to use.
According to Salon, in addition to the Foo Fighters and Beyoncé, the estate of Sinead O’Connor, the estate of Issac Hayes, and Celine Dion have all taken issue with or threatened legal action against the Trump campaign during this election cycle for the use of their music at the campaign’s rallies.
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