Tom Petty’s Family Objects To Donald Trump Campaign’s Use Of ‘I Won’t Back Down’ At Tulsa Rally

Ted Johnson
·2 min read

Click here to read the full article.

Tom Petty’s family issued a statement objecting to Donald Trump’s use of the song I Won’t Back Down at Saturday night’s rally, claiming that his campaign was not authorized to use it.

“Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind,” the family said.

More from Deadline

“Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind. Tom Petty would never want a Sogn of his used for a campaign of hate. He liked to bring people together.”

They said that they issued a cease and desist letter over the use of the song. Petty died in 2017.

A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.

The Trump campaign has faced a number of other instances where musical artists have objected to the use of their music at rallies. When Trump announced his bid for the presidency in June, 2015, Neil Young objected to his use of Rockin in the Free World. The campaign, though, said that it obtained a license through ASCAP.

Such disputes arise just about every election cycle, and one of the problems stems from the fact that campaigns obtain blanket public performance licenses from ASCAP but individual performers object that they were not contacted, claiming that they are false endorsements.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.