Pharrell Williams demands Trump stop playing his song 'Happy' during rallies


On Saturday, after 11 people were murdered inside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, President Trump still went on with his scheduled rally in Indiana, where his team played the Pharrell Williams song "Happy," much to the artist's dismay.
Williams is both the composer and performer of "Happy," and owns the rights to the song. On Monday, his attorney, Howard King, sent a cease and desist letter to Trump, telling him that his client "has not, and will not, grant you permission to publicly perform or otherwise broadcast or disseminate any of his music." He called Trump out for playing the song on the day of a mass murder, saying 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."
Williams is the latest musician to ask Trump to stop playing their music during events, following in the footsteps of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and R.E.M., Mashable reports.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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