Sinéad O’Connor’s estate has a message for former President Donald Trump — stop using the late singer’s song “Nothing Compares 2 U” at campaign rallies.
“Throughout her life, it is well known that Sinéad O’Connor lived by a fierce moral code defined by honesty, kindness, fairness and decency towards her fellow human beings,” O’Connor’s label Chrysalis Records and her estate shared in a joint statement to multiple outlets. “It was with outrage therefore that we learned that Donald Trump has been using her iconic performance of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ at his political rallies.”
The statement noted that O’Connor “would have been disgusted, hurt and insulted” to hear of the song’s usage, especially by someone whom she “referred to as a ‘biblical devil.’”
The statement concluded: “As the guardians of her legacy, we demand that Donald Trump and his associates desist from using her music immediately.”
O’Connor died on July 26, 2023, at age 56. Her cause of death was revealed to be natural causes on January 9. “The coroner has therefore ceased their involvement in her death,” the Southwark Coroners Court shared in a statement at the time.
Throughout her career, O’Connor became best known for her rendition of Prince’s song “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which earned her several Grammy nominations.
Trump, 77, used the late singer’s version of the song before taking the stage at various campaign rallies in Maryland and North Carolina.
O’Connor is hardly the first musician who has asked that the former president stop using their music.
In 2018, Washington Post editor Philip Rucker shared via X that Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music” was playing during a Trump rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“Not for much longer,” Rihanna responded at the time. “Me nor my people would ever be at or around one of those tragic rallies, so thanks for the heads up philip!”
Rihanna’s legal team confirmed to Rolling Stone at the time that she had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Trump barring him from playing her music at any further events.
“It has come to our attention that President Trump has utilized [Rihanna‘s] musical compositions and master recordings, including her hit track ‘Don’t Stop the Music,’ in connection with a number of political events held across the United States,” the statement read. “As you are or should be aware, Ms. Fenty has not provided her consent to Mr. Trump to use her music. Such use is therefore improper.”
Trump is currently campaigning to be the Republican presidential nominee for the 2024 election while facing 91 felony charges in various federal and state cases regarding election interference, hoarding classified documents after his presidency and falsifying business records.
