Trump used Happy at a rally, so Pharrell Williams issued a cease-and-desist
Lawyers for Pharrell Williams have issued Donald Trump a cease-and-desist letter after the US president played Pharrell’s song Happy, the mega-hit from Despicable Me 2, at a political rally hours after 11 people were killed by a gunman in a Pittsburgh synagogue.
Williams’ lawyer Howard E King sent the letter after Trump used Happy during his Saturday rally in Murphysboro, Illinois.
King stated in the letter: “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.”
In the aftermath of the attack, Trump called the shooting an “assault on humanity” and a “wicked act of mass murder.”
However, Williams will not allow Trump to use any of his music in the future under any circumstances. King further elaborated “Pharrell has not, and will not, grant you permission to publicly perform or otherwise broadcast or disseminate any of his music.”
Pharrell is hardly the first artist to demand that their songs aren’t played at Trump’s events. British rock band Queen denounced the Republican National Convention’s use of their song We Are the Champions to introduce then-nominee Trump in 2016 and Adele, Elton John, R.E.M, The Rolling Stones and Steve Tyler of Aerosmith have since requested that the President doesn’t use their music in a public sphere.
