Pharrell Williams has urged the president to stop using his music at political rallies.
According to multiple outlets, a legal representative for the Grammy-winning musician sent a cease and desist letter to Donald Trump on Monday after the commander in chief used Williams’ hit song “Happy” at a public event held hours after a gunman killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in what is believed to be the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history.
“On the day of the mass murder of 11 human beings at the hands of a deranged ‘nationalist,’ you played his song ‘Happy’ to a crowd at a political event in Indiana,” Williams’ attorney Howard King wrote in the letter, per CNN. “There was nothing ‘happy’ about the tragedy inflicted upon our country on Saturday and no permission was granted for your use of this song for this purpose.”
King further claimed the use of the song without Williams’ consent was an infringement of both copyright and trademark, adding that “Pharrell has not, and will not, grant” Trump permission to “publicly perform or otherwise broadcast or disseminate any of his music.”
Trump has drawn similar requests from other artists in the past, including Adele, Elton John, Queen, Steven Tyler, and the Rolling Stones.
Representatives for Williams did not immediately respond to EW’s request for more details on the exchange.
Related content:
- Controversial Heathers reboot episodes pulled in wake of Pittsburgh shooting
- Adele tells Donald Trump to stop using her music
- Remembering the 11 slain in synagogue massacre: ‘We’ve all just been crying endlessly’
Source: Read Full Article