Rufus Wainwright speaks out against Donald Trump playing ‘Hallelujah’ at rally: “The height of blasphemy”

Rufus Wainwright has spoken out against Donald Trump using his cover of Leonard Cohen‘s ‘Hallelujah’ at a campaign rally, labelling it “the height of blasphemy”.

• READ MORE: ‘Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song’ review: dissecting pop’s most-beloved ballad

Trump’s Town Hall on Monday (October 14) took a turn for the unexpected earlier, as he was seen dancing along to music for 30 minutes. The event was reportedly interrupted by medical emergencies multiple times – something outlets such as Consequence have reported as being due to the warm temperatures inside the venue.

As it progressed, the former POTUS and current Republican party leader eventually stopped answering political questions, and instead hosted a 30-minute listening party using songs from his personal playlist. This included Sinead O’Connor’s version of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ – which was reportedly played despite the singer’s estate issuing a cease and desist order to the politician for using the song at his rallies.

Also played was Guns N’ Roses classic ‘November Rain’, which was broadcast at the town hall despite the band’s frontman Axl Rose repeatedly criticising Trump on social media, along with tracks by James Brown, Elvis Presley, and Wainwright with his cover of ‘Hallelujah’.

Wainwright has since issued a press release denouncing the use of his recorded track: “The song ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen has become an anthem dedicated to peace, love and acceptance of the truth,” he states. “I’ve been supremely honored over the years to be connected with this ode to tolerance. Witnessing Trump and his supporters commune with this music last night was the height of blasphemy.”

“Of course, I in no way condone this and was mortified, but the good in me hopes that perhaps in inhabiting and really listening to the lyrics of Cohen’s masterpiece, Donald Trump just might experience a hint of remorse over what he’s caused. I’m not holding my breath.”

The press release also states that the publishing company for the Leonard Cohen estate has sent the Trump campaign a cease and desist letter.

Wainwright, an outspoken supporter of Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris, has been equally vocal about his distaste for the former POTUS. In 2020, Wainwright told NME that the events that occurred under Trump’s administration that year made it “impossible to minimise the ineptitude and pure evil” of it “in terms of just not caring about anybody’s lives.”

He also shared with NME in 2022 that a song he can “no longer listen to” is Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’: “The vision of Trump dancing with Ivanka when he won the presidency just destroyed that song for me.”

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