President Donald Trump has found himself in hot water after he used one of Linkin Park‘s songs in a campaign ad without their permission. The move made Linkin Park fans furious, with Twitter subsequently removing the video due to a copyright notice. Amid this controversy, Linkin Park has officially spoken out about the matter.
This whole issue began when Dan Scavino, the White House’s social media director, tweeted out a campaign-style video for Trump that featured a cover of Linkin Park’s “In the End” that featured Fleurie and Jung Youth and was produced by Tommee Profitt. Trump later retweeted the video onto his timeline, per Business Insider. However, since they posted the video, it has since been removed from the social media platform. Now, in place of the video, a message reads that it was disabled “in response to a report by the copyright owner.” In response to this issue, the official Twitter account for Linkin Park shared that they “did not and does not endorse Trump.” They went on to share that they have not authorized the Trump organization to use any of their music in their ads. As a result, they have issued a cease and desist.
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Linkin Park did not and does not endorse Trump, nor authorize his organization to use any of our music. A cease and desist has been issued.
— LINKIN PARK (@linkinpark) July 19, 2020
One of the artists involved in the Linkin Park cover has also spoken out about the Trump campaign using the track in their ad. Jung Youth responded to a tweet about the matter with, “Never thought I would have to tell the president not to play my music but HEY BUDDY U DIDNT LICENSE THIS AND I WOULD NEVER APPROVE IT. Unacceptable.” In another tweet, the musician shared that he has since gotten his lawyers involved. When a fan wrote that they were “disgusted” over the Trump campaign using the song and noted that the artists should seek out legal counsel, Jung Youth wrote, “You are absolutely correct. Def would never approve this. Already let my lawyer know as well.” As of right now, neither Fleurie nor Tommee Profitt, who were also involved in the Linkin Park cover, have not spoken out regarding this matter. Additionally, Trump himself has yet to comment on these reports.
