Pharrell Williams isn’t too happy about his hit song being used by Donald Trump — so much so that he is threatening to sue him.
The rapper and Adidas partner sent a cease-and-desist letter to the president on Monday after his Grammy Award-winning single “Happy” was among the tracks played during a weekend rally in Indiana where Trump was scheduled to appear.
The event took place just hours after a gunman burst into the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday, killing 11 people in the deadliest attack on Jews in modern U.S. history.
In the letter, Williams’ attorney, Howard King, claimed that the use of “Happy” without the recording artist’s consent constituted both copyright and trademark infringement.
“On the day of the mass murder of 11 human beings at the hands of a deranged ‘nationalist,’ you played his song ‘Happy’ to a crowd at a political event in Indiana,” the letter stated. “There was nothing ‘happy’ about the tragedy inflicted upon our country on Saturday, and no permission was granted for your use of this song for this purpose.”
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He added that the order applies not only to “Happy,” but also all of Williams’ songs.
“Pharrell has not, and will not, grant you permission to publicly perform or otherwise broadcast or disseminate any of his music,” it stated.
It’s not the first time a musician has told Trump to stop playing his or her music without permission. The Rolling Stones, Adele and Queen have previously demanded that their songs not be played at any of the president’s events.
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