Singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams was outraged that Donald Trump had the audacity to use his blockbuster hit song “Happy” at a rally on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, without his permission. Pharrell was also incensed that Trump did so so just hours after yet another instance of mass murder in America.
The prolific musician and Oscar-nominated hitmaker accuses Trump of illegally appropriating his colossal club banger “Happy” at a Midwest rally and in the aftermath of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that killed 11 people. An avowed White racist has been charged with the catastrophic violence.
Williams, 45, had his legal team fire off a cease-and-desist letter to Trump, lest the president be hauled before the courts.
“On the day of the mass murder of 11 people at the hands of a deranged ‘nationalist,’ you played his song ‘Happy’ to a crowd at a political event in Indiana,” writes attorney Howard King in the letter, according to 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 goes on to say Williams has not and will not grant Trump permission to publicly perform or otherwise disseminate his music and claims the use of “Happy” without his advanced permission equates to copyright and trademark infringement.
Although the circumstances are radically different from previous occasions, this isn’t the first time Trump has received a cease-and-desist letter from a musician. Steven Tyler has repeatedly protested Trump’s use of Aerosmith’s music at his events. Others have made similar complaints against No. 45, including the estate of the late legendary singer Prince, as well as R.E.M., Queen and the filmmakers of Air Force One.
