Foo Fighters Did Not Allow Donald Trump to Use ‘My Hero’ at Rally, Will Donate Any Royalties to Harris Campaign
Donald Trump may consider Robert F. Kennedy Jr. his hero, given he played the Foo Fighters’ 1997 anthem “My Hero” to welcome him to the stage at a rally Friday (Aug. 23) in Glendale, Arizona, after the independent presidential candidate suspended his campaign and endorsed the Republican nominee — but the band is calling the move a big zero.
“Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were, they would not have granted it,” a spokesperson tells Billboard of the unauthorized usage. Furthermore, “appropriate actions are being taken” against the campaign, the spokesperson continues, and any royalties received as a result of this usage will be donated to the Harris/Walz campaign.
“I don’t think too many of you people have heard of him, he’s very low-key,” Trump said before the chorus of “My Hero” began blaring as Kennedy joined Trump onstage and a row of flash pots went off. “He’s a very low-key person, but he’s highly respected. He is a great person. I’ve known him for so long. For the past 16 months. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”
Additionally, in a response to being asked by the X account with the name Wu-Tang Is for the Children if the band “let Trump use ‘My Hero’ to welcome RKJ Jr. on stage,” the Foo Fighters account simply replied, “No,” and then posted the exchange, adding, “Let us be clear.”
The move marks the second time this week — and third time this month — Trump’s campaign has run afoul of a superstar for using music without permission. On Tuesday (Aug. 22), Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung posted a 13-second video on his X account of footage of Trump stepping off a plane as Beyoncé’s “Freedom” played. The video arrived long after his opponent, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, had been using the song (with permission) for weeks.
On Wednesday (Aug. 21), Beyoncé’s record label and music publisher sent a cease-and-desist notice to Trump’s campaign over its use of “Freedom.” Later that evening, the video was deleted from Cheung’s X account.
Additionally, on Aug. 11, lawyers for the Isaac Hayes estate filed a notice of copyright infringement and threatened further legal action against the Trump campaign over its use of Hayes’ “Hold On, I’m Coming” at multiple Trump rallies without authorization between 2022 and 2024.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Melinda Newman
Billboard
