Beyoncé vs Trump over unauthorized use of her song ‘Freedom’

Another day, another unauthorized use of a song by the Trump campaign team… Beyoncé adds her name to a long list of artists who are issuing cease-and-desist letters or even suing Trump for using their songs without permission.

Beyoncé has reportedly threatened Donald Trump’s campaign with legal action for its unauthorized use of her song ‘Freedom’ in a social media video, days after the singer approved the song as the official anthem for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
According to Rolling Stone, the singer’s record label has issued a cease-and-desist letter to the Trump campaign after the former President’s spokesperson Steven Cheung posted a now-deleted video on X of Trump stepping off an airplane with the song ‘Freedom’ playing the background.
Harris walked out to ‘Freedom’ in July when she made her first public appearance since President Joe Biden announced he would be leaving the 2024 ticket. Additionally, Harris’ first presidential election campaign video was soundtracked to Beyoncé’s song, which featured on the artist’s 2016 album ‘Lemonade’. The video is narrated by actor Jeffrey Wright, who is heard saying: “What kind of America do we want? One where we’re divided, angry, depressed? C’mon! We’re Americans! Fascism? We conquered it. The moon? Landed on it. The future? Building it. Freedom? Nobody loves it more.”
While Beyoncé has not publicly endorsed Harris for President, there are rumours reported by CNN that she could be performing at the last night of the Democratic National Convention tonight.
Trump is notorious for using music at his campaign rallies without the artists’ permission. Everyone from Tom Petty, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones via Adele, Bruce Springsteen and Sinead O’Connor has issued the politician with cease-and-desist orders.
Just last week, Isaac Hayes’ estate sued him for 134 counts of copywright infringement, and this month, both French artist Woodkid and Céline Dion called out the unauthorized uses of their songs at Trump’s rallies.
Dion’s song from the Oscar-winning film Titanic, ‘My Heart Will Go On’, was used at a rally in Montana. Dion’s team condemned the use, and questioned the song choice, writing: “And really, THAT song?” – proving that Trump and his campaign team seem to have little to no self-awareness when it comes to culture or the fact that his campaign feels like a sinking ship at this point.
Additional sources • Rolling Stone