Pharrell Williams has joined the ranks of Steven Tyler, Adele, Queen, Prince, and Earth, Wind & Fire—all of whom have asked Donald Trump to stop playing their music at his events.
On Monday, an attorney representing Williams filed a cease-and-desist against the president, calling Trump out on his use of Williams’ mega-hit, “Happy” at a campaign rally on Saturday. Trump held the rally in Indiana—and played the inappropriately upbeat song—just hours after a white supremacist, Robert Bowers, allegedly shot and killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue.
According to the New York Daily News, the letter, addressed to Trump, focused on the timing of the event.
“On the day of the mass murder of 11 human beings at the hands of a deranged ‘nationalist,’ you played [Pharrell’s] song ‘Happy’ to a crowd at a political event in Indiana,” Williams’ lawyer wrote, adding, “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.”
Advertisement
Or any purpose, really. Williams’ rep also clarified that Trump is not allowed to use any of his music—not “Blurred Lines,” not “Freedom,” not “Lap Dance” (please God, not “Lap Dance”)—for anything. Point, blank, period.
