Linkin Park is speaking out against Donald Trump after the president’s team tweeted a campaign ad featuring the band’s music without his permission.
On Saturday (July 18), Twitter removed a campaign-style video featuring a version of the 2002 Linkin Park song “In the End,” citing a copyright complaint. The video ad, originally posted by White House director of social media Dan Scavino, was retweeted by the president.
“Linkin Park neither endorsed nor endorses Trump, nor authorized his organization to use our music. A cease and desist was issued,” Linkin Park tweeted Saturday.
Twitter removed the video from the campaign after receiving a notice of Linkin Park’s Machine Shop Entertainment Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Reuters reports. The clip reportedly included Tommee Profitt’s version of “In the End” with Jung Youth and Fleurie.
Billboard He has contacted Twitter for comment.
Youth, whose voice appears on the cover, also expressed disapproval of the Trump campaign using the song without permission.
“Today I discovered that Trump was illegally using a song he was part of in a propaganda video he tweeted … anyone who knows me knows that I am firmly against intolerance and racism. Lots of love to all members of the Twitter community who helped remove the video, ”Youth tweeted on Saturday.
Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, who died of suicide in 2017, was a vocal critic of Trump. About six months before his death, the artist tweeted: “I repeat … Trump is a greater threat to the United States than terrorism! We have to recover our voices and defend what we believe in.”
This is not the first time that Trump has been threatened with legal action for using artists’ music without his consent. Over the years, dozens of other acts have issued cease and desist notices for unauthorized use, including Tom Petty, Neil Young, REM, Rihanna, Pharrell, Guns N ‘Roses, and Steven Tyler.
