The former president performed Dion’s 1997 hit from “Titanic” at a rally in Bozeman on August 9.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty; Joe Raedle/Getty
Celine Dion; Donald Trump
Céline Dion’s team speaks out against Donald Trump with one of their most famous songs at a campaign rally in Montana.
During the rally for Trump and his vice presidential candidate JD Vance in Bozeman on Friday, August 9, organizers played a video of Dion performing “My Heart Will Go On,” her 1997 hit from the Titanic Soundtrack, according to NBC News.
In a message shared on Dion’s X account (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, August 10, the singer’s team responded to the campaign’s use of the song.
“Today, Céline Dion’s management team and her record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc., became aware of the unauthorized use of the video, recording, musical performance and image of Céline Dion singing ‘My Heart Will Go On’ at a Donald Trump/JD Vance campaign rally in Montana,” the statement said.
“This use is not authorized in any way and Céline Dion does not endorse this or any similar use,” the statement continues. At the end there is a question for the Trump campaign team: “… And really, THIS song?”
Today, Celine Dion’s management team and her record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc., became aware of the unauthorized use of the video, recording, musical performance and image of Celine Dion singing “My Heart Will Go On” at a Donald Trump/JD Vance campaign rally… pic.twitter.com/28CYLFvgER
— Celine Dion (@celinedion) 10 August 2024
Dion had previously declined Trump’s request to perform at his inauguration as president in 2017.
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This is not the first time a musician has objected to Trump’s use of his music. During the former president’s re-election campaign in 2020, John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival issued a cease-and-desist letter to Trump after he used the band’s song “Fortunate Son” at campaign events, according to Rolling stone.
IOC via Getty
Céline Dion performs on the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024
“I wrote this song because, as a veteran, I was disgusted that some people were excluded from serving our country because of their access to political and financial privileges. I also wrote about rich people not paying their fair share of taxes,” Fogerty wrote at the time.
“Mr. Trump is a prime example of both of these problems. The fact that Mr. Trump is also stoking the flames of hatred, racism and fear while rewriting recent history is yet another reason to be concerned about his use of my song.”
Joe Raedle/Getty
Donald Trump speaks at a press conference on August 8, 2024
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In the same year Consequence of sound reported that Phil Collins’ team also asked Trump’s campaign to stop using “In the Air Tonight” after the tune was played at a rally in Iowa.
The use of the song was “particularly inappropriate as it was apparently intended as a satirical reference to Covid-19,” Collins’ lawyer wrote at the time. “This reference came at a time when Iowa was suffering from an acceleration of Covid-19 infections. Mr. Collins does not condone the blatant trivialization of Covid-19.”
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The Associated Press previously reported that even more artists – and the estates of several deceased musicians – had objected to Trump’s use of their music. These include Bruce Springsteen, who objected to his use of “Born in the USA” in 2016, Neil Young, the family of Tom Petty, the estate of Leonard Cohen and the Rolling Stones.
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