Donald Trump’s campaign has come under attack from another artist who has refused to use his music for the Republican presidential nominee. This time, Celine Dion’s management and record label have criticized the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign for “unauthorized use” of “My Heart Will Go On,” one of her signature songs from her 1997 album. Titanic.
Friday, Donald Trump Campaign A rally in Bozeman, Montana, showed a video of Dion performing the film's theme song.
“Really, that song?” Dion shared in a statement on social media. The song, which was released in 1997 from the hit film Titanic The film discusses enduring love after tragic circumstances: the film tells the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Jack, who fall in love with each other under forbidden circumstances and meet a heartbreaking end.
In a statement released Saturday, Celine Dion’s management team and her record label said their client’s song and images were not used with permission. “Today, Celine Dion’s management team and her record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada, became aware of the unauthorized use of the video, recording, musical performance and image of Celine Dion singing “My Heart Will Go On” at a Donald Trump/JD Vance campaign rally in Montana,” the statement read. “Under no circumstances should this use be made, and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use.”
This isn’t the only time the Trump campaign has used music without permission from its creators. In 2016, the Rolling Stones said they did not endorse Trump’s use of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Then in 2020, the band and its representatives said they would take “further steps” after his campaign ignored their cease-and-desist directives. Tom Petty’s estate also took issue with the Trump campaign’s use of “I Won’t Back Down” during his June 2020 rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In 2019, Trump's use of Ozzy Osbourne's “Crazy Train” in a Twitter video angered Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne. In 2018, Rihanna sent a letter to stop the music after “Don't Stop the Music” was played at a Trump rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in November of that year. Also, during the 2016 election, Queen criticized then-candidate Trump for using “We Are the Champions,” while R.E.M., Neil Young, Everlast, and Aerosmith also spoke out after Trump used their music without permission.
