Sinéad O’Connor’s estate wants Donald Trump to stop using her music
By Jack Guy, CNN
London (CNN) — The estate of Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor has called on Donald Trump to stop using one of her songs during campaign events, the latest in a string of similar requests from artists who have decided they don’t want to be associated with the former US president.
In a joint statement published with her record label, Chrysalis Records, O’Connor’s estate said the Dublin-born singer would have been “disgusted, hurt, and insulted” by Trump’s use of her version of the Prince song “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
“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,” the statement reads.
“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,” it continues.
“It is no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt, and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way by someone who she herself referred to as a ‘biblical devil,’” the statement added.
“As the guardians of her legacy, we demand that Donald Trump, and his associates desist from using her music immediately,” it concluded.
CNN has contacted Trump’s representatives for comment.
O’Connor, 56, was found unresponsive at her home in London in July last year and pronounced dead at the scene. Her death was not considered suspicious, and in January, a coroner in London ruled that she died of natural causes.
The singer was known for her pure and crisp voice, paired with exceptional songwriting abilities that expressed her views on politics, spirituality, history and philosophy. Her first album, “The Lion and the Cobra,” was released to critical acclaim in 1987, but it was O’Connor’s 1990 follow-up, “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” that broke her through as a well-known artist.
Her rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U” shot to No. 1 in 1990, buoyed by a music video that featured O’Connor, with close-cropped hair and a dark turtleneck.
The request from her estate is the latest call from artists concerned about Trump’s use of their work.
In 2020, the Rolling Stones threatened legal action against Trump’s campaign for using their music at his campaign rallies, and Tom Petty’s family issued a cease-and-desist notice to the Trump campaign after “I Won’t Back Down” was played at a rally. R.E.M. and Linkin Park also complained about Trump incorporating their songs during his 2020 campaign.
In 2016, Adele told the Republican politician that he didn’t have permission to use her music, while in 2018 Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler ordered his attorney to send a cease-and-desist letter to Trump’s campaign over the use of the classic hit “Dream On.”
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CNN’s Jeremy Diamond, Eric Levenson, Lisa Respers France, Kate Sullivan and Catherine Nicholls contributed to this report.
