Topics: Beyonce, Donald Trump, US News, Politics
Beyoncé has reportedly threatened former president Donald Trump with a cease-and-desist.
According to Rolling Stone, an insider source told the outlet that the Trump campaign did not receive permission to use Beyoncé's song 'Freedom' off her album Lemonade in a video posted to social media.
The track was used in a 13-second video of Trump exiting a plane in Michigan. The video was posted by campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung to Twitter on Tuesday (August 20).
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The video has since been removed from Twitter.
Notably, Kamala Harris' campaign has been heavily using Beyoncé's 'Freedom' across a slew of campaign materials, with the artist's permission.
Earlier this summer, the song played while Harris walked out to a podium during her first public appearance after securing Joe Biden's endorsement.
Shortly after, her campaign released an official launch video soundtracked by the song.
On Monday (August 19), the Harris/Walz campaign also released a new ad that featured 'Freedom' while actor Jeffrey Wright narrated along with it.
Meanwhile, this isn't the first time Trump has been caught under fire for using artists' music without their permission.
Earlier this summer, the former president played Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' during a presidential campaign rally in Montana, while also playing a video of the singer performing the ballad to the crowd.
However, the popular hit was played without Dion's permission and her team spoke out against its use, urging the former president to refrain from using any of her music moving forward.
At the time, a statement posted on behalf of Dion and her record label read: "Today, Celine Dion's management team and her record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc, became aware of the unauthorized usage of the video, recording, musical performance, and likeness of Celine Dion singing 'My Heart Will Go On' at a Donald Trump / JD Vance campaign rally in Montana.
"In no way is this use authorized, and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use... And really, THAT song?"
As of writing, the Trump campaign has yet to speak on the alleged cease-and-desist.
This is a developing story and updates will be posted accordingly.
