The White Stripes sue Donald Trump for copyright infringement over 'Seven Nation Army'
Musicians Jack White and Meg White, the duo behind the 2000s rock band the White Stripes, sued former President Donald Trump, his deputy director of communications and the Trump campaign on Monday for allegedly using their 2003 hit "Seven Nation Army" in a video posted to social media last month.
"This lawsuit seeks redress for a presidential candidate’s flagrant misappropriation of the musical composition and sound recording Seven Nation Army ... by the White Stripes, which are among the most well-known and influential musical works of all time," the lawsuit, filed in New York federal court Monday, states.
Jack and Meg White "vehemently oppose the policies adopted and actions taken by Defendant Trump when he was President and those he has proposed for the second term he seeks," the complaint reads.
Jack White posted the first page of the lawsuit to Instagram Monday afternoon with the caption, "This machine sues fascists."
The lawsuit alleges copyright infringement of "Seven Nation Army's" recording and composition and asks the court to prevent Trump and his campaign "from engaging in further unlawful conduct in violation of the Copyright Act." The White Stripes also seeks "monetary damages, attorney’s fees and costs" as well as any profits "or gain enjoyed by Defendants" from the video.
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Why is Jack White suing Donald Trump?
The alleged social media posts at issue — which appear to have been deleted — were published to Instagram and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Aug. 29, according to the lawsuit.
In a video allegedly included in the posts, of which Jack White previously shared a screen recording on Instagram, the former president boarded an aircraft for campaign stops in Michigan and Wisconsin while the iconic intro riff from "Seven Nation Army" played.
The campaign sought "to burnish Defendant Trump’s public image, and generate financial and other support for his campaign and candidacy on the backs of Plaintiffs," the lawsuit states.
Jack White and Meg White say no one from Trump's campaign sought a license to use the song in the posts, and "even if they had, Plaintiffs would not have given them one because Plaintiffs do not endorse, and do not want to be associated with Defendants in any manner."
According to the lawsuit, the Trump campaign ignored "pre-litigation efforts to resolve the matters," which the plaintiffs said left them with no choice but to file their lawsuit. The duo says the campaign's actions violated federal copyright laws.
The plaintiffs are represented by New York intellectual property and entertainment attorney Robert A. Jacobs.
The Tennessean, pat of the USA TODAY network, has reached out to the Trump campaign and to Jack White's team for comment.
Jack White previously threatened to sue Donald Trump over 'Seven Nation Army' use
White first expressed his disapproval of Martin's post on the afternoon of Aug. 29, taking to Instagram to announce that he planned to take legal action against the Trump campaign.
In his original post, White said, "Oh....Don't even think about using my music you fascists."
The use of "Seven Nation Army" in a Trump campaign ad is not a new phenomenon — a 2016 campaign ad also used the tune.
At the time, The White Stripes published a statement on Facebook, according to The Week. "The White Stripes would like to unequivocally state that they have nothing whatsoever to do with this video. They are disgusted by this association, and by the illegal use of their song," the statement reportedly read.
As a result, Trump and his campaign "knew or should have known the use (of "Seven Nation Army") was unauthorized," the White Stripes' lawsuit claims.
Following the 2016 use of the song, White and his label, Third Man Records, released merch that said “Icky Trump.” The shirts riffed off of the name of the album and song “Icky Thump,” which White released with The White Stripes in 2007.
The back of the shirt had the lyrics to "Icky Thump" printed: " White Americans? What? Nothing better to do? / Why don’t you kick yourself out? You’re an immigrant too. / Who’s using who? What should we do? / Well, you can’t be a pimp and a prostitute too."
Who's spoken out?Trump keeps dancing as artists get outraged over use of their songs
Other artists who have asked Trump to stop using their music
Many musical artists and their estates have expressed in recent years that they would not like the Trump campaign to use their music. The list includes the Foo Fighters, Céline Dion, Adele, the estate of Isaac Hayes, the estate of Sinéad O’Connor, ABBA, Beyoncé, R.E.M's Michael Stripe and Village People.
After "My Hero" was played at Trump's Arizona rally with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month, a representative for the Foo Fighters told USA TODAY the band was not asked for permission, and if they were it would not have been granted.
The rock band vowed to donate "any royalties received as a result of this use will be donated" to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.
The Trump campaign claimed they had a license to play the song from BMI's Songview service.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY