French musician condemns Donald Trump for playing his “LGBT+ anthem” at rally without permission
French musician, Woodkid, has condemned Donald Trump for playing his track, ‘Run Boy Run’, at a recent rally ahead of the presidential election on July 5th.
Woodkid, real name Yoann Lemoine, is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and ‘Run Boy Run’ is a track about the singer celebrating his sexuality, which is at odds with the ideals of members of the Republican Party. At the recent Republican National Conference in Milwaukee, Senator Ron Johnson said in his speech of the Democratic Party, “This fringe agenda includes biological males competing against girls and the sexualisation and indoctrination of our children.”
Furthermore, at the same conference, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, took aim at transgender visibility day because it takes place annually on March 31st, which this year clashed with Easter Sunday. The Republican politician claimed, “They promise normalcy and gave us transgender visibility day on Easter Sunday.”
The track, which has been used in a plethora of high-profile advertising campaigns since its release in 2012 including by mobile phone giants O2, had previously been used last year in a two-minute video by Trump without permission.
“Once again, I never gave permission for the use of my music on that [Donald Trump] film,” Woodkid began by saying, acknowledging the previous advert, which is still able to watch on YouTube.
Woodkid also pointed out the poignant message behind the track, noting, “Run Boy Run is a LGBT+ anthem written by me, a proud LGBT+ musician. How ironic.”
The French artist signed off his message by pleading with Universal Music France to “please react and don’t be complicit”.
The Grammy-nominated track has been used on various television shows over the years, including episodes of Doctor Who, Being Human, The Musketeers, 13 Reasons Why, How To Get Away With Murder, and The Umbrella Academy.
Woodkid’s remarks follow the estate of the late Sinéad O’Connor asking Trump to stop using her music at political rallies in March. The former president, who was in the Oval Office from 2017 until 2021, played ‘Nothing Compares 2 U‘ at rallies in Maryland and North Carolina
In a joint statement, O’Connor’s estate and label Chrysalis Records said: “Throughout her life, it is well known that Sinéad O’Connor lived by a fierce moral code defined by honesty, kindness, fairness and decency towards her fellow human beings. It was with outrage therefore that we learned that Donald Trump has been using her iconic performance of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ at his political rallies.”
Ozzy Osbourne, Queen, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones and Guns N’ Roses have all previously criticised Trump for using their music during campaign rallies.
Additionally, in January, Johnny Marr shared his frustration upon discovering Trump had played The Smiths’ ‘Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want’ at an event in Laconia, New Hampshire. Marr wrote on X: “Ahh…right…OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this shit shut right down right now.”
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