Singer Pharrell Williams has demanded that the president of the United States stop playing his music at his rallies and political events.
Williams’ hit song Happy was played at Trump’s event in Indiana event on Saturday, just hours after an armed man opened fire in a synagogue in Pittsburgh killing 11 people.
A letter from Williams’ lawyer, which orders Trump to stop playing his songs at events, states: “Pharrell has not, and will not, grant you permission to publicly perform or otherwise broadcast or disseminate any of his music.
“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…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 joins a list of high profile musicians including Adele, Steven Tyler and the Rolling Stones, who have ordered Trump not to play their music in his campaign work.
Critics have accused Trump of stoking antisemitism with his political rhetoric and some have argued there is a direct link between his conduct and the mass shooting in Pittsburgh.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has described these suggestions as “outrageous”.
During a news conference on Monday, she said: “The president is not responsible for these acts.
“I think it’s irresponsible to blame the president and members of his administration for those heinous acts.”
She also said that Trump “adores” Jewish Americans.
The shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh has been deemed the worst anti-Semitic attack in the history of the United States.
