Emlyn Travis is a news writer at Entertainment Weekly with over five years of experience covering the latest in entertainment. A proud Kingston University alum, Emlyn has written about music, fandom, film, television, and awards for multiple outlets including MTV News, Teen Vogue, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Paper Magazine, Dazed, and NME. She joined EW in August 2022.
Rufus Wainwright is the latest in a long line of musicians to call out former President Donald Trump for playing one of his songs without approval.
The Republican presidential nominee spun a series of tunes -- including Wainwright's 2007 cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" -- as part of a bizarre, 30-minute-long music-filled farewell that occurred at the end of his Oaks, Penn. rally on Monday night. After playing The Village People's "YMCA," Trump kept the listening party going by telling event organizers to "turn that music up" during Wainwright's "Hallelujah," which he called a "great song." He then proceeded to stand onstage and wave to the crowd as he listened to the music.
To say that Wainwright, who is voting for Kamala Harris, was shocked by his inclusion on the playlist was an understatement. "The song 'Hallelujah' by Leonard Cohen has become an anthem dedicated to peace, love and acceptance of the truth," he said in a press release provided to Entertainment Weekly. "I've been supremely honored over the years to be connected with this ode to tolerance. Witnessing Trump and his supporters commune with this music last night was the height of blasphemy."
The Grammy-nominated singer continued, "Of course, I in no way condone this and was mortified, but the good in me hopes that perhaps in inhabiting and really listening to the lyrics of Cohen's masterpiece, Donald Trump just might experience a hint of remorse over what he's caused. I'm not holding my breath."
The release also noted that the publishing company for Cohen's estate, Sony Music Publishing, has sent the Trump campaign a cease and desist letter in the aftermath of the event. Representatives for Cohen's estate, Sony Music Publishing, and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
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In addition to "Hallelujah," Trump's campaign also played James Brown's "It's A Man's Man's Man's World," Elvis Presley's "An American Trilogy," Oliver Anthony's "Rich Men North of Richmond," Andrea Bocelli's "Por Ti Volaré (Con Te Partiro)," and "Memory" from the musical, Cats.
Guns N' Roses' "November Rain" and Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" were also both featured on the playlist, despite both artists previously denouncing the campaign for using their music in the past.
In 2018, Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose posted on social media that the band had formally requested that their music not be "used at Trump rallies or Trump associated events," while O'Connor's estate and label Chrysalis Records noted in a joint statement earlier this year that "Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt, and insulted" by having Trump play her song.
It's also not the first time that "Hallelujah" has been used at a political event without proper permission. The tune was previously played at the 2020 Republican National Convention, leading Cohen's estate to announce it was "exploring our legal options" at the time, per Rolling Stone.
"We are surprised and dismayed that the RNC would proceed knowing that the Cohen Estate had specifically declined the RNC's use request," Michelle L. Rice, a legal representative of the Cohen Estate, told the outlet. "And their rather brazen attempt to politicize and exploit in such an egregious manner 'Hallelujah,' one of the most important songs in the Cohen song catalogue."
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