Radiohead tell ICE to “go fuck yourselves” after using ‘Let Down’ without permission
Radiohead have condemned ICE for using ‘Let Down’ without permission in a social media video.
A choral version of the classic track, which appeared on Radiohead’s seminal album OK Computer, was recently used in a recent Instagram video by ICE, which was published on February 18th.
As of writing, the video has more than 127,000 likes on Instagram alone and half a million views on X.
The caption for the video reads, “Thousands of American families have been torn apart because of criminal illegal alien violence. American citizens raped and murdered by those who have no right to be in our country. This is who we fight for. This is our why.”
Now, Radiohead have pleaded with ICE to remove the video and hit out against them for using their song without permission, stating, “We demand that the amateurs in control of the I.C.E. social media account take it down.”
Radiohead continued, “It ain’t funny. This song means a lot to us and other people, and you don’t get to appropriate it without a fight. Also, go fuck yourselves.”
It comes just weeks after Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood stated that his score for Phantom Thread was used in the new Melania Trump documentary, Melania, also without permission.
Greenwood’s statement reads, “While Jonny Greenwood does not own the copyright in the score, Universal failed to consult Jonny on this third-party use which is a breach of his composer agreement. As a result Jonny and Paul Thomas Anderson have asked for it to be removed from the documentary.”
The film’s producer, Marc Beckman, hit back by describing it as a “blatant lie” before claiming, “We have the legal rights to use it. We’ve done everything the right way. We followed protocol. We respect artists. We compensated everyone for their music.”
Many artists have previously complained about ICE using their songs without permission, including Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo. Additionally, in October, The Cure successfully got a video, featuring ‘Friday I’m In Love’, removed by Homeland Security after a takedown request.
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