Foo Fighters did not approve Donald Trump’s use of ‘My Hero’ at rally

For Foo Fighters, Donald Trump is not any hero.

The previous president and convicted felon performed the band’s 1998 hit “My Hero” at a rally in Glendale, Ariz., on Friday to welcome Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.‘s endorsement of him — however the rockers say they didn’t give Trump’s group approval to take action.

“Foo Fighters weren’t requested permission, and in the event that they had been, they’d not have granted it,” a consultant for the band informed Leisure Weekly on Saturday, additionally confirming that they may donate any royalties they obtain from Trump’s use of the music to Kamala Harris’ marketing campaign.

The group’s official X account posted a screenshot of an trade with one other consumer with the caption “Allow us to be clear” after the consumer requested the band in the event that they gave Trump permission to make use of the music, to which they merely replied, “No.”

The group’s frontman, Dave Grohl, has not hidden his disdain for the forty fifth U.S. president up to now. “I’m ashamed of our president. I really feel apologetic for it after I journey,” the singer and multi-instrumentalist mentioned in a 2018 GQ profile, including, “The factor about Trump that stings probably the most is that this: He simply looks as if an enormous jerk.”

Through the coronavirus pandemic, the musician additionally criticized the Trump administration for desirous to reopen colleges earlier than the distribution of a vaccine.

“Distant studying is an inconvenient and hopefully momentary resolution,” Grohl, whose late mom was a instructor, mentioned in a YouTube video in 2020. “However as a lot as Donald Trump’s conductor-less orchestra would like to see the nation prematurely open colleges within the identify of rosy optics, ask a science instructor what they give thought to White Home press secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s remark that science shouldn’t stand in the best way. It might be silly to take action on the expense of our kids, lecturers, and colleges.”

That is hardly the primary time a musical act has shut down Trump’s use of its music on the 2024 marketing campaign path. Beyoncé reportedly threatened the Republican nominee’s group with the potential of a cease-and-desist letter after marketing campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung posted a video that includes her music “Freedom,” and the video has since been deleted. Vice President Harris has repeatedly used “Freedom” all through her marketing campaign, together with at this week’s Democratic Nationwide Conference in Chicago.

Earlier this month, Celine Dion criticized Trump’s use of her music “My Coronary heart Will Go On” at a rally. “Under no circumstances is that this use licensed and Celine Dion doesn’t endorse this or any comparable use,” she wrote on Instagram. “And actually, THAT music?” 

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Foo Fighters carried out at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021, and likewise criticized Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s 2008 marketing campaign for utilizing “My Hero.”

“It is irritating and infuriating that somebody who claims to talk for the American individuals would repeatedly present such little respect for creativity and mental property,” the band mentioned in an announcement on the time. “The saddest factor about that is that ‘My Hero’ was written as a celebration of the frequent man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated with out our information and utilized in a way that perverts the unique sentiment of the lyric simply tarnishes the music.”