To state the obvious, many people in the music world aren’t the biggest fans of Donald Trump, and they will do whatever is in their power to avoid being associated with the president. Pharrell sent Trump a cease and desist after “Happy” was played at a rally, and Axl Rose recently said that the band has formally requested that Trump stop using Guns ‘N’ Roses’ music too. It looks like Trump may have to dip into the pool of public domain songs soon, because now Rihanna has added herself to the list of musicians who don’t want their songs played at Trump-related events.
Yesterday, The Washington Post‘s Philip Rucker tweeted, “It’s been said a million times, but here’s a million and one — Trump’s rallies are unlike anything else in politics. Currently, Rihanna’s ‘Don’t Stop The Music’ is blaring in Chattanooga as aides toss free Trump T-shirts into the crowd, like a ball game. Everyone’s loving it.” Rihanna quoted the tweet and responded, “Not for much longer…me nor my people would ever be at or around one of those tragic rallies, so thanks for the heads up philip!”
Not for much longer…me nor my people would ever be at or around one of those tragic rallies, so thanks for the heads up philip! https://t.co/dRgRi06GrJ
— Rihanna (@rihanna) November 5, 2018
Rose notes, however, that there may not be much the artists can do about this issue, as he tweeted, “Unfortunately the Trump campaign is using loopholes in the various venues’ blanket performance licenses which were not intended for such craven political purposes, without the songwriters’ consent.”
