Another day, another instance of Trump & Co. using popular music in their fascist propaganda without permission from the artist. I realize music license violation isn’t even in the top 40 of gravest crimes being committed by this administration, much like VP JD Vance “cooking” a vile dump-and-bake for his wife isn’t that man’s greatest sin. But these are still crimes against the musical and culinary arts, and we are taking notice! So like Jonny Greenwood, Kenny Loggins, and Semisonic before her (in this term alone), now Kesha is the latest artist demanding the White House remove her music from their social media. In this case, the WH was using “Blow,” a track from Kesha’s 2010 album Cannibal, in a TikTok video of a US jet attacking an enemy ship. The video was posted last month, but Kesha only learned of it on Monday, and quickly wrote on her socials that she does NOT approve of this usage. So WH Comms Director Steven Cheung delivered what he thought was a crushing response… that basically admitted they deliberately troll artists for click bait. Our government is being run by middle schoolers.
“All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this,” posted WH Communications boss Steven Cheung after Kesha took to social media to slam the administration for putting her song “Blow” under footage with the title “Lethality” from a February 10 TikTok posting of a jet launching a missile and destroying what appears to be enemy ship. “This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re bitching about.”
While the often biting Cheung may have a point, the reverse is also true of what can happen to the White House when it spotlights what it considers snowflake reactions. In this case, Kesha went full Epstein Files on Trumpland in response with a less-is-way-more, “Stop using my music, perverts @WhiteHouse”
…This all started earlier Monday when Kesha wrote on her socials: “Trying to make light of war is disgusting and inhumane. I absolutely do NOT approve of my music being used to promote violence of any kind. Love always trumps hate. please love yourself and each other in times like this. This show of blatant disregard for human life and quite frankly this attack on all of our nervous systems is the opposite of what I stand for.”
Former UFC spokesperson Cheung’s pile driver comeback aside, the White House hasn’t exactly gotten the upper hand in many of these music battles.
In the past two weeks alone, the estate of Black Moses himself, Isaac Hayes, reached a settlement with Trump over their objections to his use of the Hayes co-written “Hold On, I’m Coming” at campaign rallies. On February 23, as their lawsuit over the Sam and Dave-recorded hit was being self-dismissed, the Estate of the now deceased South Park star said the payout from Trump “reaffirms the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and copyrights, especially as they relate to legacy, ownership, and the responsible use of creative works.”
Just a few days later, on February 27, Radiohead offered up their response to a promotional video for Immigration and Customs Enforcement that features a version of their “Let Down” tune. “We demand that the amateurs in control of the ICE social media account take it down,” the British band said of the clip shared on accounts of Trump, the White House and DHS. “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.”
They added: “Also, go f*ck yourselves.”
Which is kind of what Kesha said today, in about as many words.
BTW — Kesha’s original objection post has hit over 1 million views.
Kesha didn’t merely allude to the Epstein Files with that pervert Tweet, she brilliantly ended her original post with, “Also, don’t let this distract us from the fact that criminal predator Donald Trump appears in the Files over a million times.” Kesha does not use the word “predator” lightly, either. And BTW — as of this writing, Kesha’s original objection post has 3.6 million views, while Cheung’s rebuttal sits at 70,100. And speaking of Epstein Files distractions, the war Trump started in Iran is disrupting tons of air travel, and earlier this week forced Kesha to cancel a sold-out show in Berlin because of flight cancellations. What a f–king mess.
PS — Full marks to Radiohead on style, I’m giving them a Standing O from my couch. Tagging on, “Also, go f–k yourselves,” to the end of their statement was just so irreverently pitch perfect. Bravo.
PPS — Wait, did I read that correctly that Trump just paid out a settlement??
Photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, MHD/Avalon
Re: “ PPS — Wait, did I read that correctly that Trump just paid out a settlement??”
I always think of any payouts he makes that they came from the supporters he’s continuously badgering for money.
Or the American people. He has a history of misappropriation of funds. Isn’t that part of why he and his crotch goblins aren’t allowed to run a charity anymore?
That man just needs to play Kid Rock and whatever else musicians that actually like him. The click bait thing is stupid bc it’s just a reminder of how many musicians despise him.
Or Steven Cheung with a kazoo, since he’s so tough.
Has Dump even paid any of the money he owes to E. Jean Carroll?
Also, he can go eff himself.
That orange fool has never paid anyone in his life. And stealing art is just so typical of our classy ‘White House’. If there is a law, they will break it.
One thing Kirk’s death clarified for me is that the people running social media in this way aren’t actually driven by ideology the way wer are used to. They’re just shit posters. I assume these are people who spent their lives on line and playing video games talking shit to each other on headsets. So none of this is actually real to them. It is still a video game to them.
It’s such a shame that the White House continues to be disrespectful to performing artists by using their music without their permission. I’m sure they know the legal aspects involved with performance rights, but they continually disregard them. Actually, not a shock since they disregard most legal procedures. Let’s hope during the 2026 midterm elections that we could render him finally impotent let’s all get out there on March 28 during the next no Kings rally! We need for this one to be bigger than the last one!.
Cheung stands out as particularly vile in an administration full of vile people. Vile and pathetically juvenile. No hope of any class coming back to the WH while this collection of ghouls and grifters occupy it.