FOO FIGHTERS Denounce DONALD TRUMP's Use Of 'My Hero' At Rally, Will Donate Any Royalties To KAMALA HARRIS Campaign

FOO FIGHTERS have denounced the unauthorized use of their song "My Hero" at a Donald Trump rally on Friday (August 23).

The former U.S. president introduced Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the FOO FIGHTERS track at an Arizona campaign rally, just hours after the independent presidential candidate suspended his campaign and endorsed the Republican nominee. Trump described Kennedy as "highly respected" and a "great person" before Kennedy walked out to the 1998 song.

A spokesperson told Billboard about the unauthorized use: "FOO FIGHTERS were not asked permission, and if they were, they would not have granted it." Furthermore, "appropriate actions are being taken" against the campaign, the spokesperson continues, and any royalties received as a result of this use will be donated to the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz campaign.

In recent years, many musicians have fought publicly against the GOP's co-opting of their songs and their respective messages.

AEROSMITH, Neil Young, THE BEATLES, Bruce Springsteen, QUEEN, Elton John, THE ROLLING STONES, as well as the estates of Tom Petty, Prince and David Bowie have all objected to Trump's use of their music at rallies.

Earlier this week, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung posted a 13-second video on his X account of footage of Trump stepping off a plane as Beyoncé's "Freedom" played. A day later, Rolling Stone reported that Beyoncé's team threatened to send a cease-and-desist to the Trump campaign over the use of the song, which it reportedly did not receive permission for.

By contrast, Kamala Harris received approval from Beyoncé's team to use "Freedom" from her 2016 album "Lemonade" as part of her presidential campaign.

Earlier this month, Isaac Hayes's estate took legal action against the Trump campaign for its use of "Hold On, I'm Coming" at multiple Trump rallies over the last two years.

On August 10, Celine Dion posted a statement on Instagram calling out the Republican presidential candidate for playing a video of her performing "My Heart Will Go On" at a recent campaign stop without her permission.

According to Billboard, the performing rights organizations BMI and ASCAP require political campaigns to obtain licenses to use songs in their catalogs, with a caveat in the license that allows songwriters to object to usage in a political campaign. However, that does not prevent a campaign from playing a song at a rally.

In 2017, just a few months after Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States, FOO FIGHTERS leader Dave Grohl said that he was "ashamed" of having Trump as the country's leader, explaining that the billionaire real estate mogul "seems like a massive jerk."

"Today, the American Dream is broken," Grohl told the British GQ magazine at the time. "I've probably travelled internationally more than our current president and the one thing I understand that he doesn't is that the world isn't as big as you think it is. It is all in your neighborhood. India, Asia, Iceland aren't other solar systems. I am ashamed of our president. I feel apologetic for it when I travel."

Also in 2017, Grohl said in an interview with Switzerland's SRF 3 that criticism of Trump's extremist rhetoric by musicians and Hollywood stars only served to embolden and fuel his base. "I think that for years maybe they felt like the minority and now all of a sudden there's a voice that they can sort of attach themselves to, and the more pushback they get from that, it's like the stronger they feel in a lot of ways," Grohl explained. "So all you can do is fight the good fight every day when you wake up and try to be a good person and treat everybody with respect."

Asked how he, as a responsible parent, talks with his kids about the often-inflammatory behavior we see from the president on a daily basis, Grohl told SRF 3 at the time: "I remember the night of the election, I had to sit down and have a talk with my daughter. She was terrified, man. And I basically told her what I'd just told you. I was, like, 'You can't give up hope. You just have to fight the good fight. And the things you believe in… You have to stand up and represent the things that you actually believe in.' That's what everybody should do. But I think it's hard for a kid to understand that."