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Singer-songwriter Neil Young has sued one of US President Donald Trump‘s political action committees, Trump 47 Committee Inc., over its use of his song Rockin’ In The Free World at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, earlier this month.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond, VA, the use of Rockin’ In The Free World to usher Donald Trump onstage violated the terms of an agreement reached in 2020 with another PAC.
“In 2020, Young sued another corporation formed by Trump, Donald J. Trump For President, Inc., for copyright infringement of Rockin’ In The Free World along with another song [Devil’s Sidewalk] written by Young,” reads the lawsuit. “Donald J. Trump For President, Inc. asserted no defence and immediately settled shortly after it was served, promising that it would never again use Rockin’ In The Free World without a license and permission from Young.”
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The lawsuit says that by playing the song in Youngstown, the committee “acted willfully and in conscious disregard for Young’s rights”, and that he “suffered damage to his reputation and brand as a result of the implication that he supports Donald J. Trump in any way.”
Young, who is seeking $10,000,000 in damages plus costs, is a longtime Trump adversary and released Big Crime, a song critical of the president, in 2025.
“Wake up, people!” he wrote the same year. “Today the USA is a disaster. Donald Trump is destroying America bit by bit with his staff of wannabes, people with no experience or talent, closet alcoholic wife beaters, inexperienced leaders who only know how to lie to keep favour with Trump’s falseness so they can hold their unearned positions in his inept government, a Congress full of Republicans acting like idiots with no conscience. He has divided us.”
Neil Young & the Chrome Hearts recently released a video for Earth Girl. Taken from Second Song, Young’s 50th studio album, it’s a tribute to his wife, the actor, director and activist Daryl Hannah.
“I just wanted to say it to her now,” Young told NPR. “You know, I don’t look at it like it’s going to be too late. It’s never too late. It’s not too late; it’s just a different time.”
