Jack White is taking legal action against Donald Trump for use of Seven Nation Army in campaign video
Jack White is taking legal action against Donald Trump for his use of The White Stripes’ hit Seven Nation Army in a campaign video.
In an Instagram post yesterday (9 September) White shared the first page of the lawsuit with the caption, “This machine sues fascists.”
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He’s filed the lawsuit against Trump alongside his ex-wife and fellow White Stripe Meg White, and they’ve described the politician’s use of their 2003 track as “flagrant misappropriation”.
The video that prompted the lawsuit was posted by Margo Martin, a Trump staffer, on X (formerly Twitter) on 29 August, and showed him boarding a plane while the opening riff of the song played in the background. It has since been deleted.
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A post shared by Jack White (@officialjackwhite)
Jack first responded on Instagram, writing: “Don’t even think about using my music you fascists. Lawsuit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your five thousand others).”
The musician has filed a copyright infringement suit alongside Meg, and say they seek “significant monetary damages”. Trump, his campaign, and Martin are listed as defendants, and the suit alleges that the campaign did not seek or obtain permission to use the song, or respond to pre-litigation attempts to sort the issue.
The White Stripes claim that they “publicly denounced” Trump’s use of the song in 2016, during his first presidential campaign, and say they “vehemently oppose the policies adopted and actions taken by defendant Trump when he was president and those he has proposed for the second term he seeks.”
They describe Seven Nation Army as “among the most well-known and influential musical works of all time,” and add that Trump and his campaign have sought to “generate financial and other support for his campaign and candidacy on the backs of plaintiffs, whose permission and endorsement he neither sought nor obtained in violation of their rights under federal copyright law.”
They’re just the latest in a large group of artists unhappy with Trump’s use of their music as part of his presidential campaigns, from Foo Fighters to Beyoncé, while Eddie Vedder called him “desperate” on the latest Pearl Jam album.
Meanwhile, Jack has been a longtime critic of Trump, and in 2023 criticised many of his fellow celebrities for talking to the former US president at a UFC event. He wrote, “Anybody who ‘normalises’ or treats this disgusting fascist, racist, con man, disgusting piece of shit Trump with any level of respect is ALSO disgusting in my book.”
Jack released his sixth solo album No Name on 19 July, and yesterday (9 September) announced a surprise intimate UK tour for this weekend, taking in London, Liverpool, and Brighton (via NME).
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
