The family of late soul icon Isaac Hayes is suing former US President Donald Trump, who is also a Republican presidential candidate, for using the iconic song “Hold On (I’m Coming)” at his rallies without permission. The filing of the lawsuit comes after several failed attempts to get Trump to stop playing the hit song during his campaign events.
This lawsuit was announced after Isaac Hayes III published a post on social media in which he called Trump racist and misogynist.
“According to him, Donald Trump is an example of moral bankruptcy and lack of respect towards women with sexist comments and indecent way of behaving,” he added.
ISAAC HAYES III took to Social Media Sunday announcing that legal action will be instituted against his mother’s property by several members of her immediate family. “We are suing Donald J. Trump and his campaign for 134 counts of copyright infringement related to their unauthorized use of our song ‘Hold On I’m Coming’ during campaign rallies from 2022-2024.” He stated yesterday.
The Daily Beast spoke with James Walker Jr., attorney for the family, who gave Trump five days to pay or else they would proceed with litigation. According to him, there had been many requests made over the past two years but no response has come forth from those running Trump’s campaigns. In other words: “He does not want people thinking they endorse it because they do not want their music being stolen.”
The lawsuit demands that starting August 16th, 2024, Trump must cease performing the song; take down any associated videos; publicly disclaim authorization; additionally pay $3m in licensing fees. Additionally, if Trump does not meet these demands, Isaac Hayes III added that further legal action would be taken.
Today he told us about his concerns about hearing music when he doesn’t expect it in public venues where thousands gather yet nothing is done about it? How can this man play my music without asking permission? He asked, “Why don’t these people pay substantial amounts of money to this family to hear their music without a valid license?” The attorney also stated they would have no option but to begin filing copyright infringement notices for the ill-famed campaign videos on such platforms as YouTube.
As at now, Trump’s campaign is yet to respond publicly about the lawsuit or allegations made by Hayes’ family.
