Foo Fighters didn’t approve Donald Trump’s use of ‘My Hero’ at rally

For Foo Fighters, Donald Trump is no hero.

The former president and convicted felon played the band’s 1998 hit “My Hero” at a rally in Glendale, Ariz., on Friday to welcome Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.‘s endorsement of him — but the rockers say they did not give Trump’s team approval to do so.

“Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were, they would not have granted it,” a representative for the band told Entertainment Weekly on Saturday, also confirming that they will donate any royalties they receive from Trump’s use of the song to Kamala Harris’ campaign.

The group’s official X account posted a screenshot of an exchange with another user with the caption “Let us be clear” after the user asked the band if they gave Trump permission to use the song, to which they simply replied, “No.”

The group’s frontman, Dave Grohl, has not hidden his disdain for the 45th U.S. president in the past. “I am ashamed of our president. I feel apologetic for it when I travel,” the singer and multi-instrumentalist said in a 2018 GQ profile, adding, “The thing about Trump that stings the most is this: He just seems like a massive jerk.”

During the coronavirus pandemic, the musician also criticized the Trump administration for wanting to reopen schools before the distribution of a vaccine.

“Remote learning is an inconvenient and hopefully temporary solution,” Grohl, whose late mother was a teacher, said in a YouTube video in 2020. “But as much as Donald Trump’s conductor-less orchestra would love to see the country prematurely open schools in the name of rosy optics, ask a science teacher what they think about White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s comment that science should not stand in the way. It would be foolish to do so at the expense of our children, teachers, and schools.”

This is hardly the first time a musical act has shut down Trump’s use of its music on the 2024 campaign trail. Beyoncé reportedly threatened the Republican nominee’s team with the possibility of a cease-and-desist letter after campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung posted a video featuring her song “Freedom,” and the video has since been deleted. Vice President Harris has repeatedly used “Freedom” throughout her campaign, including at this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Earlier this month, Celine Dion criticized Trump’s use of her song “My Heart Will Go On” at a rally. “In no way is this use authorized and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use,” she wrote on Instagram. “And really, THAT song?” 

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Foo Fighters performed at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021, and also criticized Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s 2008 campaign for using “My Hero.”

“It’s frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property,” the band said in a statement at the time. “The saddest thing about this is that ‘My Hero’ was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song.”