One of the hardest parts, I imagine, about being a musician is that you can’t really control what people think about or do with your music. There’s nothing stopping someone you dislike from using your music to support their own opinions.
The family of Tom Petty is attempting to stop President Trump from using Petty’s music in his campaign.
Tom Petty’s official Twitter account recently posted a statement about Donald Trump’s use of one of Petty’s songs.
“Tom Petty’s song ‘I Won’t Back Down’ was used today at Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, OK. Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind,” the statement read.
“Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind.”
“Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate. He liked to bring people together,” the statement continued. “Tom wrote this song for the underdog, for the common man, and for EVERYONE.”
“We want to make it clear that we believe everyone is free to vote as they like, think as they like, but the Petty family doesn’t stand for this.”
“We believe in America and we believe in democracy. But Donald Trump is not representing the noble ideas of either. We would hate for fans that are marginalized by this administration to think we were complicit in this usage.”
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“Concurrently, we have issued an official cease and desist notice to the Trump campaign.”
The statement was signed by Tom’s daughters, Adria and Annakim, his widow Dana and his ex-wife Jane Petty.
You can read the full statement for yourself right here.
