A spokesman for Donald Trump used Beyoncé’s song “Freedom” for a video. The singer is now threatening to file an injunction.
Superstar Beyoncé (42) is apparently joining the group of artists who are taking action against the illegal use of their songs by Donald Trump’s (78) election campaign. This concerns her song “Freedom” from the album “Lemonade” (2016), which Democrat Kamala Harris (59) also uses – with permission – in her campaign appearances.
On Tuesday (August 20), Donald Trump’s spokesman Steven Cheung shared a video of the former US president on the X platform in which he gets out of a plane to the tune of “Freedom.” Beyoncé’s team is said to have threatened the Trump campaign with a cease-and-desist order. The post can no longer be found on Cheung’s account.
In July, Beyoncé gave permission for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to use the song “Freedom” for her campaign. Just on Monday, the campaign of the current vice president and her running mate Tim Walz (60) released a new campaign ad with the track.
These artists have already taken action against Trump
This is not the first time that Republican Donald Trump’s election campaign in his race for the White House has faced opposition to the use of songs. In the past, Adele (36), the White Stripes, Bruce Springsteen (74), Neil Young (78) and Elton John (77), to name just a few, have publicly expressed their displeasure and prohibited further use. Most recently, the late soul musician Isaac Hayes (1942-2008) announced that he would sue Trump and his team in a total of 134 cases of copyright infringement. The song “Hold On (I’m Coming)”, which he co-wrote, was used without permission countless times at campaign events between 2022 and 2024.
Shortly before, Canadian Celine Dion (56) had protested against the use of her song “My Heart Will Go On”. On August 10, the singer made it clear that the use of the song at a performance in Montana was “in no way authorized”. Dion also insisted that this or similar uses should not occur in the future.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
