Prince Estate Calls Out Trump for Playing "Purple Rain" at Minneapolis Campaign Rally

"The Prince Estate will never give permission to President Trump to use Prince’s songs."

Donald Trump
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Image via Getty/Stephen Maturen

Donald Trump

Prince's people aren't too happy with Donald Trump.

On Thursday night, the Prince Estate posted a stern tweet that reminded POTUS to stop using the late singer's music. The message was shared shortly after the estate received word that "Purple Rain" was being played at the president's campaign event in Minneapolis, which just so happened to be Prince's hometown.

They're playing Purple Rain in the home town of Prince. Not entirely sure what he'd make of it pic.twitter.com/NQwASA3gjU

— Chris Robinson (@cslrobinson) October 11, 2019

"President Trump played Prince’s 'Purple Rain' tonight at a campaign event in Minneapolis despite confirming a year ago that the campaign would not use Prince’s music," the message read. "The Prince Estate will never give permission to President Trump to use Prince’s songs."

The tweet included a copy of a letter sent by the Trump team in October 2018, after the Prince Estate issued a complaint about the president's use of "Purple Rain."

"The Campaign [will] refrain from using Prince's 'Purple Rain,' or any other Prince music, in connection with Campaign rallies or other Campaign events,"  the letter stated. "Without admitting liability, and to avoid any future dispute, we write to confirm that the Campaign will not use Prince’s music in connection with its activities going forward."

Obviously, the Trump campaign failed to adhere to the agreement. The Prince Estate has not indicated if they will take any legal action against the president or his team. 

President Trump played Prince’s “Purple Rain” tonight at a campaign event in Minneapolis despite confirming a year ago that the campaign would not use Prince’s music. The Prince Estate will never give permission to President Trump to use Prince’s songs. pic.twitter.com/FuMUPzSWOe

— Prince (@prince) October 11, 2019

This isn't the first time the president has been blasted for using an artist's work without permission. Acts like Rihanna, Neil Young, R.E.M., and Elton John have ordered the Trump camp to refrain from playing their music during campaign events. RiRi's team has even gone so far to issue a cease-and-desist.

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