The family of late R&B legend Isaac Hayes said Sunday night they are suing presidential candidate Donald Trump over his unauthorized use of the song “Hold On, I'm Coming” during his campaign events.
In documents posted to Hayes’ social media accounts, his family is demanding that Trump stop playing the song and pay $3 million for using it without permission from 2022 to 2024, saying the copyright has been violated 134 times. Hayes wrote “Hold On, I’m Coming” for the R&B band Sam & Dave, so his estate owns the rights.
In the letter, the Hayes family also requested that all videos of Trump using the song be removed, and requested an official statement from the Trump campaign acknowledging that the Hayes estate did not “authorize, endorse or permit” the song's use.
The Hayes family continued by saying that if these demands are not met, they will “take all necessary legal action to enforce the infringed intellectual property rights, including but not limited to sending third-party takedown requests and/or federal litigation.”
Hayes’ son, Isaac Hayes III, also posted a statement on social media denouncing Trump’s use of the song. “Donald Trump embodies a lack of integrity and class, not only through his continued use of my father’s music without permission, but also through his history of sexual assault against women and racist rhetoric,” Hayes III wrote. “This behavior will no longer be tolerated, and we will take swift action to put an end to it.”
Trump campaign representatives did not immediately respond. diverseRequest comment.
Trump has a long history of asking music artists not to use their songs in his campaign. Just two days ago, Celine Dion also took to social media to disavow the use of her song “My Heart Will Go On” at a rally.
“This is in no way permissible to use, nor does Celine Dion endorse, this or any similar use,” Dion wrote. “And really, this song?”
