US PRESIDENTIAL hopeful Donald Trump continues to use Sinéad O’Connor’s recording of Nothing Compares 2 U at his political rallies, despite being asked to refrain by her estate. O’Connor died in 2023 in London at the age of 56.
In March, the late singer’s estate and record label told the BBC that she would have been ‘hurt, disgusted and insulted’ by Trump’s use of her music. Her estate specifically asked Donald Trump to stop using her music at his political rallies, with solicitors sending him a ‘cease and desist’ letter.
But it seems this edict has been ignored. At a rally this week in Asheville, North Carolina the song was once again played. It wasn’t used as a ‘walk-on anthem’ but was heard streaming over the PA system as the meeting wrapped up.
A statement from Ms O’Connor’s estate in March said: “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.”
Nothing Compares 2 U was written by the American artist Prince who died in 2016 aged 57. He had legal battles himself over the broadcasting of his material, so it seems certain he would have objected to Donald Trump using Nothing Cmpares 2 U at his rallies.
The Rolling Stones also sent Donald Trump a cease and desist letter after he played You Can’t Always Get What You Want in 2016. However, Trump used the song again in his 2020 campaign.
A ‘cease and desist letter’ is not legally enforceable in itself, but it can be used as evidence in legal proceedings.
