Pharrell Has a Specific Beef With Trump Rallies

He doesn't want to hear his 'Happy' played anymore
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 30, 2018 10:05 AM CDT
Trump Defends 'Fun' Rallies, but Pharrell Has a Beef
Pharrell Williams doesn't want his "Happy" played at Trump rallies.   (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

In a Fox News interview Monday, President Trump defended his decision to go ahead with a political rally after the mass shooting in Pittsburgh. Cancel events like that, and it gives too much power to those responsible for tragedies, Trump told Laura Ingraham. "Rallies are meant to be fun," he said, per the Week. "Frankly, I think that's the way it should be. You can't let these people disrupt more than they already have." One person who disagrees with the president's moves: Pharrell Williams, who's angry that his song "Happy" was heard at the weekend rally.

"On the day of the mass murder of 11 human beings at the hands of a deranged 'nationalist,' you played his song 'Happy' to a crowd at a political event in Indiana," writes attorney Howard King in a cease-and-desist letter to the Trump team, per the Hollywood Reporter. "There was nothing 'happy' about the tragedy inflicted upon our country on Saturday and no permission was granted for your use of this song for this purpose." Williams says Trump cannot legally use his song and demands that he stop. (Steven Tyler knows how Pharrell feels.)

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