Current:Home > FinanceJack White threatens to sue over Trump campaign staffer's use of White Stripes song -ValueCore
Jack White threatens to sue over Trump campaign staffer's use of White Stripes song
View
Date:2025-04-18 08:57:59
Another musician is objecting to the Trump campaign's use of their work.
Jack White on Thursday threatened legal action against former President Donald Trump's team after the deputy director of communications for his 2024 presidential campaign allegedly posted a video of Trump boarding a plane to the tune of The White Stripes' iconic 2003 track "Seven Nation Army." The video, which White posted a screen recording of on Instagram, appears to have been taken down.
"President @realDonaldTrump departs for Michigan and Wisconsin!" Margo Martin's X post read, per White's screen recording.
"Oh....Don't even think about using my music you fascists," White wrote in the caption of his post. "Law suit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your 5 thousand others.) Have a great day at work today Margo Martin."
White also castigated Trump for an altercation between a public affairs official and members of the Trump campaign at Arlington National Cemetery yesterday. Though federal law states political activities are not permitted on cemetery grounds, Trump's team was reportedly photographing and filming at the site.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
He called out the Republican presidential candidate "for insulting our nation's veterans at Arlington you scum. You should lose every military family's vote immediately from that if ANYTHING makes sense anymore."
USA TODAY reached out to the Trump campaign and White's reps for comment.
Who's spoken out?Trump keeps dancing as artists get outraged over use of their songs
Céline Dion, Foo Fighters have also spoken out against Trump campaign
The former White Stripes frontman is the latest in a string of artists who have distanced themselves from Trump's presidential run after his campaign used their music in rallies and videos.
Céline Dion ("My Heart Will Go On"), Foo Fighters ("My Hero"), the estate of Sinéad O'Connor ("Nothing Compares 2 U") and the family of songwriter Isaac Hayes (Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'") are among those who have denounced the use of their work.
Some, but not all, have threatened legal action.
After the Trump campaign played "Hold On, I'm Comin'" at rallies, Hayes' son, Isaac Hayes III, filed a copyright infringement notice, which was issued to Trump and demanded a payment of $3 million in licensing fees.
"Donald Trump epitomizes a lack of integrity and class, not only through his continuous use of my father's music without permission but also through his history of sexual abuse against women and his racist rhetoric," Hayes III wrote on Instagram. "This behavior will no longer be tolerated, and we will take swift action to put an end to it."
The Hayes family's lawyer claims Trump "willfully and brazenly" committed copyright infringement and has continued to use the song "despite being asked repeatedly not to engage in such illegal use" by the family.
After "My Hero" was played at Trump's Arizona rally with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week, a representative for the Foo Fighters told USA TODAY the band was not asked for permission, and if they were it would not have been granted. The rock band vowed to donate "any royalties received as a result of this use will be donated" to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman
veryGood! (25)
Related
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Derek Carr throws a TD pass in New Orleans Saints debut vs. Kansas City Chiefs
- Ashley Olsen Privately Gives Birth, Welcomes First Baby With Husband Louis Eisner
- Bachelor Nation's Jade Roper Shares She's Experiencing a Missed Miscarriage
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- Family, preservationists work to rescue endangered safe haven along Route 66
- New Mexico Supreme Court provides guidance on law enforcement authority during traffic stops
- Officers fatally shoot armed man in North Carolina during a pursuit, police say
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Sofia Richie Reveals How Dad Lionel Richie Influences Her Beauty Routine
Ranking
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- Ecuador was calm and peaceful. Now hitmen, kidnappers and robbers walk the streets
- Woman goes missing after a car crash, dog finds her two days later in a Michigan cornfield
- 3 men found dead in car outside Indianapolis elementary school
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- 'The Fantasticks' creator Tom Jones dies at 95
- You Missed This Stylish Taylor Swift Easter Egg in Red, White & Royal Blue
- Broncos coach Sean Payton is making his players jealous with exclusive Jordan shoes
Recommendation
$73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
Gwen Stefani's Son Kingston Rossdale Makes Live Music Debut at Blake Shelton's Bar
Ex-Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria: Derek Jeter 'destroyed' stadium by removing HR sculpture
How a DNA detective helped solve an unsolvable Michigan cold case in four days
Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
Russia launches lunar landing craft in first moon mission since Soviet era
As free press withers in El Salvador, pro-government social media influencers grow in power
Freed U.S. nurse says Christian song was her rallying cry after she was kidnapped in Haiti