Steven Tyler Sends Trump Cease-and-Desist Letter For Playing Aerosmith
Aerosmith‘s Steven Tyler has again sent President Trump a cease-and-desist letter for using the band’s music without permission at a political rally.
In 2015, the singer’s legal team warned the then-Republican presidential candidate over his use of “Dream On” on the campaign trail. Three years later, a Trump rally Tuesday at West Virginia’s Charleston Civic Center featured Aerosmith’s 1993 hit “Livin’ on the Edge,” resulting in another cease-and-desist letter from Tyler, Variety reports.
“By using ‘Livin’ On The Edge’ without our client’s permission, Mr. Trump is falsely implying that our client, once again, endorses his campaign and/or his presidency, as evidenced by actual confusion seen from the reactions of our client’s fans all over social media,” the cease-and-desist letter stated.
“This specifically violates Section 43 of the Lanham Act, as it ‘is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person.'”
The letter also notes that Trump’s team has ignored the previous cease-and-desist from 2015, making this latest violation a “willful infringement. “What makes this violation even more egregious is that Mr. Trump’s use of our client’s music was previously shut down, not once, but two times, during his campaign for presidency in 2015,” the letter continued.
The scene in WV before Trump’s rally. Aerosmith’s “Livin’ on the edge” playing. pic.twitter.com/HW1qr9TBgE
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 21, 2018
Tyler is a co-writer on “Livin’ on the Edge” alongside band mate Joe Perry and songwriter Mark Hudson. Like in 2015, it is Tyler – and not Aerosmith – taking legal action against Trump: Both Perry and drummer Joey Kramer are avowed Republicans, with Kramer especially vocal about his support from Trump.
On Monday, the night before the West Virginia rally, Aerosmith performed alongside Post Malone at the MTV Video Music Awards. The band will begin a Las Vegas residency in April 2019.