The Foo Fighters are taking legal action against the campaign of US presidential candidate Donald Trump after it recently used one of the band’s songs at a public event.
Trump’s campaign played the song by Foos My hero as the Republican Party candidate welcomed guest speaker Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage at a rally in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday, August 23.
Representatives of the band say the campaign did not obtain permission to do so. For this reason, they will sue the campaign and donate any damages awarded to it to the campaign of Trump’s rival, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
A spokesperson for the band told Billboard, “The Foo Fighters were not asked for permission, and even if they had been, they would not have granted it,” adding that “appropriate action will be taken” and all royalties collected will be donated to the Harris/Walz campaign.
The Foo Fighters X account (formerly Twitter) responded firmly to the question of whether they had given Trump permission – simply saying “no,” retweeting the question and adding, “Let’s get this straight.”
The 2024 US presidential election will take place in November. The USA will then elect its 47th president.
Trump, who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2016 to 2020, is currently trailing in the polls behind Harris, the current vice president of Joe Biden, who will not run for re-election in November.
The Foo Fighters are by no means the first group to demand that Trump not use their music for his election campaign. The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Aerosmith, The Smiths, Queen and others have previously criticized Trump for using their music without permission.