Trump hit with cease and desist for using Tom Petty song in Tulsa

"Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind. Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate."

JUNE 21, 2020 07:38

U.S. President Donald Trump pauses as he addresses his first re-election campaign rally in several months in the midst of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S., June 20, 2020. (photo credit: LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS) — U.S. President Donald Trump pauses as he addresses his first re-election campaign rally in several months in the midst of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S., June 20, 2020.

(photo credit: LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS)

US President Donald Trump's Tulsa, Oklahoma, campaign rally met with more controversy after he used the song "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty at the rally without getting permission.

This was revealed in a statement uploaded to Twitter early Sunday morning by the family members of the late Tom Petty.

pic.twitter.com/mxToRoHWNn
— Tom Petty (@tompetty) June 21, 2020

"Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind," the statement said.

"Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind. Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate. He liked to bring people together.

"Tom wrote this song for the underdog, for the common man and for EVERYONE. We want to make it clear that we believe everyone is free to vote as they like, think as they like, but the Petty family doesn't stand for this. We believe in America and we believe in democracy. But Donald Trump is not representing the noble ideas of either.

"We would hate for fans that are marginalized by this administration to think we were complicit in this usage. Concurrently, we have issued an official cease and desist notice to the Trump campaign."

The cease and desist notice is merely the most recent in a line of controversy surrounding the Trump rally in Tulsa, which first garnered backlash over its original date on "Juneteeth," the holiday commemorating the ending of slavery. While the date was changed, the event continued to fuel backlash due to the risk of coronavirus spreading among the attendees in the 19,000-seat BOK Center, which the Trump campaign seemed to be dismissive of and required all attendees to sign a waiver absolving the campaign of any responsibility should they get sick.