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A month ago, Neil Young told Reuters he was OK with Donald Trump playing “Rockin’ in the Free World” at campaign rallies because Trump said he got a license to use it.
In an interview on The Late Show, Young told Stephen Colbert even though Trump has the legal right to use the song, he didn’t like the idea of Trump using his music “because of the misogyny and the racism.”
In a Facebook post, Young wrote, “When I discovered that the candidate first used my song at his campaign launch, my management called his office and immediately requested he stop. We thought he had. But now, unfortunately, I understand he is still using it.”
“Though there is a considerable legal difference between obtaining music rights for commercial use and obtaining a license agreement for public venues (When licensing music for public events – artists permission is not required) I believe using an artists work for a specific politicians campaign represents ‘implied consent,'” he added.
He continues: “After we asked him to stop using my music, he began hurling insults and then immediately released a photo to the media (again without my permission) to further mislead the public. The picture was taken when I visited his office while conducting various meetings with potential investors for my amazing sounding music company Pono, many months prior to his decision to become a candidate.”
“I still support the issue focused, straight shooter Bernie Sanders, in my opinion, the best person for the job, hands down. The process is not over until its over. I do not endorse hate, bigotry, childish name calling, the superficiality of celebrity or ignorance.”
“The headline created by Reuters is titillating and it is purposely misleading, it is not journalism it is tabloid reporting.”
Along with the post, the Canadian rocker shared a video of him shouting, “F**k you, Donald Trump!” on stage performing “Rockin’ in the Free World”.