On Saturday, hours after a gunman burst into Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and killed 11 in the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history, President Trump was scheduled to appear at a convention in Indiana to address a group of student farmers.
While they waited for Trump to take the stage, the crowd danced to a playlist of upbeat music, including “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper and “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.
Pharrell is now threatening to take legal action for the use of his song.
On October 29th Pharrell’s attorney Howard King issued a cease-and-desist letter to Trump, saying the use of “Happy” constituted copyright infringement and a trademark violation.
“On the day of the mass murder of 11 human beings at the hands of a deranged ‘nationalist,’ you played his song ‘Happy’ to a crowd at a political event in Indiana,” the letter stated. “There was nothing ‘happy’ about the tragedy inflicted upon our country on Saturday and no permission was granted for your use of this song for this purpose.”
The letter indicated Williams’s cease-and-desist would apply to all of his songs, not just “Happy.”
“Pharrell has not, and will not, grant you permission to publicly perform or otherwise broadcast or disseminate any of his music,” the letter stated.
