Pharrell is certainly not too pleased with the president and the recording artist is not hesitant, whatsoever, about detailing exactly why he feels this way so adamantly.
As reported, hours after the Tree of Life congregation faced a mass shooting in Pittsburgh on Saturday (Oct. 27), Donald Trump deemed it appropriate to carry on business as usual and play Pharrell’s hit single “Happy” during a rally in the Midwest. Once the multifaceted creative got wind of this news, he immediately had his legal team contact the administration to make sure the occurrence does not happen again.
“Dear Mr. Trump: We write you on behalf of our client, Pharrell Williams, composer and performer of the hit song ‘Happy,’” the letter from the star’s attorney Howard King reads. “On the day of the mass murder of 11 human beings at the hands of a deranged ‘nationalist,’ you played his song ‘Happy’ to a crowd at a political event in Indiana. There was nothing ‘happy’ about the tragedy inflicted upon our country on Saturday and no permission was granted for your use of this song for this purpose.”
After reports confirmed that eight men and three women lost their lives in the tragedy, the president later went on to defend his choice to play the song later that afternoon, sharing in an interview on Monday that “rallies are meant to be fun.”
King continues to say that Pharrell has not and will not grant Trump permission to publicly perform or otherwise disseminate his music. He claims the use use of “Happy” without his consent will constitute both copyright and trademark infringement.
Trump has previously been met with similar cease and desist letters, including ones from Prince’s estate, Queen, R.E.M., Steven Tyler and the filmmakers of Air Force One.
With the midterm elections fast approaching — it arrives next Tuesday, Nov. 6 — countless rappers, celebrities and artists are taking to social media to further enforce the importance of voting.