Key Takeaways
- JMSN sent the White House a cease-and-desist demanding it remove a Donald Trump campaign ad that uses his song "Love Me" without permission.
- The independent artist said he would "never authorize" his music for any political agenda, while his lawyers argued the ad falsely implies his endorsement and damages his artistic integrity.
- The 30-second spot pairs the song’s chorus with footage from Trump’s second term and audio from Dana White’s 2024 Republican National Convention speech.
JMSN has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the White House over its unauthorized use of his song "Love Me" in a campaign ad for Donald Trump.
Last week, the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter took to Instagram to issue a statement after his viral hit popped up in a government-funded commercial praising the US president.
After explaining that he would "never authorize" his music to be used for any political agenda or campaign," he mentioned that he was looking into lawyers to help him being that he's an independent artist who's never had to deal with a "ridiculous" situation like this.
Fast forward to Tuesday (September 29), JMSN (real name Christian Berishaj) has now found himself some representation, and Norman L. Eisen of Democracy Defenders Action has fired off a cease-and-desist, addressed to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
In a statement sent to Complex, the Velvet hitmaker's lawyers are demanding that the administration stop using "Love Me" and take down the ad. The letter argues the unauthorized use violates the Lanham Act by falsely suggesting JMSN endorses or is affiliated with the administration.
In the letter (which can be viewed in full here), Eisen writes that "JMSN does not want to be viewed as directly or indirectly affiliated with the President or his Administration."
It continues: "As he said in his Instagram post denouncing the Advertisement, he 'would never authorize [his] music to be used for ANY political agenda or campaign.' Thus, the use of the Song in this context, as part of an overtly partisan, political advertisement, is particularly damaging, as it could cause others to call into question JMSN’s artistic independence and integrity."
The 30-second campaign ad loops the chorus from "Love Me" over a montage from Donald Trump's second term, including the president's line about defeating "communism, socialism and Marxism." It also pulls audio from UFC boss Dana White's speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
The commercial debuted Wednesday evening (September 23) during Jesse Watters Primetime on Fox News, according to The Daily Beast. CBS Miami reporter Jim DeFede flagged it publicly first, and by Thursday it had run on CBS and other national networks.
