Tom Petty’s family objects to Trump using song ‘I Won’t Back Down’ in ‘campaign of hate’

‘Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind,’ they said in a statement

The family of the late Tom Petty has issued a statement objecting to Donald Trump’s use of the song “I Won’t Back Down” in his campaign.

Trump played the hit 1989 song at his rally in Tulsa on Saturday night (20 June), but Petty’s estate has claimed he was not authorised to use it.

In a statement, the family said Trump’s campaign “leaves too many Americans and common sense behind”.

“Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind,” they continued. “Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate. He liked to bring people together.”

At the rally, Trump called coronavirus “Kung Flu” in a xenophobic reference to its origins in China.

The family issued a cease and desist letter over the use of the song.

Petty died in 2017 at the age of 66, after accidentally overdosing on prescription drugs.

Many musicians have objected to Trump using their songs, from Neil Young to Aerosmith.

Pink recently mocked Trump after his Tulsa rally failed to draw in anything close to the one million people the president had claimed would attend.

The event took place in the 19,000-capacity BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where there were thousands of empty seats.

It was held against the advice of Trump’s own coronavirus task force, which had urged White House officials to cancel it amid fears it could spread coronavirus.