Trump Campaign Pulls ‘Freedom’ Video After Beyoncé Issues Cease and Desist

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign recently had to pull down a video that featured Beyoncé’s song “Freedom” after the singer’s team expressed dissatisfaction regarding its use.

Reports from Billboard and Rolling Stone indicate that Beyoncé’s record label and music publisher sent a cease-and-desist letter to Trump’s campaign, asserting that the song was used without proper authorization.

The initial report from Rolling Stone highlighted that the “Cowboy Carter” artist did not give clearance for her song to be utilized by the former president. USA TODAY has also reached out to Beyoncé’s representatives for further comments on the issue.

The incident began when Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, shared a video on his social media account. The video, posted on August 20, featured Trump descending from a plane with Beyoncé’s 2016 hit “Freedom” playing in the background. Despite the controversy, the video remained on Cheung’s social media until Wednesday afternoon, when it was finally taken down.

The post was initially captioned “Touchdown in Michigan!! @realDonaldTrump”, adding to the campaign’s promotional content. However, the post did not last long before it was removed later in the evening, following the backlash.

Beyoncé’s “Freedom” from her 2016 critically acclaimed album “Lemonade” has notably become an unofficial anthem for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. The singer’s team gave Vice President Harris swift approval to use the song, which features Kendrick Lamar, for her campaign activities as early as July.

Harris first used the song during her initial visit to her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, which took place shortly after President Joe Biden announced he would not be running in the 2024 race and endorsed Harris. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago has also frequently played Beyoncé’s song, heightening its significance in Harris’s campaign.

Despite the song’s wide association with Harris’s campaign, Beyoncé has not publicly endorsed any candidate. However, members of her inner circle, including her mother Tina Knowles, have shown support for Harris.

This incident with Beyoncé’s song isn’t the first time Trump’s team has faced similar challenges. Recently, Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, sharing various suspected AI-generated images suggesting Taylor Swift’s endorsement for his campaign. This is despite Swift’s known criticism of the Republican nominee in the past.

One of the AI-generated images depicted Swift dressed as Uncle Sam with the caption, “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.” Another image cited a thwarted terrorist plot targeting Swift’s Vienna concert as a reason for “Swifties turning to Trump,” with a mix of real and AI images portraying Swift supporters aligning with Trump’s campaign. Real-life groups like MAGA Swifties share some inspiration with these fabricated images.

Taylor Swift, although not yet endorsing any candidate for the 2024 election, has increasingly shared her political views in the recent past, making the AI-generated images all the more misleading.

This series of events illustrates some of the complexities and heightened tensions surrounding music rights and political endorsements in the current political climate.

Source: Billboard, Rolling Stone