Donald Trump’s campaign team has once again been hit by an artist who did not want his music used by the candidate. This time, Celine Dion’s management and record label criticized the Republican presidential candidate’s campaign for the “unauthorized use” of “My Heart Will Go On,” one of her most famous hits from 1997. Titanic.
On Friday, Donald Trump’s election campaign At a rally in Bozeman, Montana, a video was shown of Dion performing the film’s theme song.
“And really, THIS song?” reads a statement that Dion shared on social media. The 1997 song from the blockbuster Titanic is about love that endures even after tragic circumstances: The film tells the story of ill-fated lovers Rose and Jack, who fall in love under forbidden circumstances and meet a heartbreaking end.
In Saturday’s statement, Dion’s management team and her label said their client’s song and images were not used with permission. “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 in Montana,” the statement said. “This use is not authorized in any way and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use.”
It’s far from the only time the Trump campaign has used music without obtaining permission from the creators. In 2016, the Rolling Stones said they did not approve of Trump’s use of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” In 2020, the band and its representatives said they would take “further action” after the Trump campaign ignored their cease-and-desist requests. Tom Petty’s estate also took issue with the Trump campaign when it used “I Won’t Back Down” during its rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2020.
In 2019, Trump’s use of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” in a Twitter video drew the ire of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne. In 2018, Rihanna sent a cease-and-desist letter after “Don’t Stop the Music” was played at Trump’s rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in November of that year. During the 2016 election, Queen criticized the then-candidate for using “We Are the Champions,” while REM, Neil Young, Everlast and Aerosmith also spoke out after Trump used their music without permission.
