Brendon Urie of Panic! At the Disco objected to the Donald Trump campaign’s use of “High Hopes” at a Phoenix event on Tuesday, even using an expletive to make his point.
“Dear Trump campaign,” Urie wrote on Twitter. “F*ck you. You’re not invited. Stop playing my song. No thanks, Brendon Urie, Panic! At The Disco & company.” He then tweeted a link to a voter registration site.
Urie is among of a number of artists to object to the Trump campaign’s use of their music, which the campaign typically secures via a license from performing rights groups like ASCAP. The family of Tom Petty on Saturday demanded that the campaign stop using “I Won’t Back Down,” which was played at the Tulsa rally.
Last week, actress Betty Buckley, who sang “Memory” when she originated the role of Grizabella in the Broadway production of Cats, urged composer Andrew Lloyd Webber to “say no” to Trump’s repeated use of the song at rallies. “O, this makes me sick!” she tweeted.
The song “High Hopes” was played as Donald Trump Jr. walked out to a gathering of young supporters at the Dream City Church in Phoenix. Among other things, the president once again referred to the coronavirus as the “kung flu,” and the crowd cheered wildly. Asked by a reporter on Monday over the president’s use of the phrase at his Tulsa rally, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended it, saying that Trump was linking it to its “place of origin.”
Pete Buttigieg’s campaign frequently played the song during his events as he ran for the Democratic nomination.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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