R.E.M. is none too happy that Donald Trump used their song “It’s The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” at a recent rally calling for public opposition to the Iran nuclear deal.
“Go f–k yourselves, the lot of you — you sad, attention-grabbing, power-hungry little men,” frontman Michael Stipe said in an email to The Daily Beast. “Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign.”
It is believed that the men Stipe referred to were Trump and Ted Cruz, a fellow Republican presidential candidate who invited Trump to speak at the rally on Wednesday.
The band posted a slightly more polished response on their official Facebook page. It read:
“While we do not authorize or condone the use of our music at this political event, and do ask that these candidates cease and desist from doing so, let us remember that there are things of greater importance at stake here. The media and the American voter should focus on the bigger picture, and not allow grandstanding politicians to distract us from the pressing issues of the day and of the current Presidential campaign.”
Trump is not the only public figure to get in trouble with a band for using their music this week. Survivor, the band behind the hit song “Eye of the Tiger,” tore into anti-gay Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis after she used the song during a rally after she was released from jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
15 Times Donald Trump Courted Controversy (Photos)
The U.S. Justice Department accused Trump of not renting to minority tenants in 1973.
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Trump was accused of dooming the fledgling U.S. Football League in 1984 when he insisted it go head to head with the NFL with a fall game schedule.
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Trump sparked a feud with Rosie O'Donnell in 2006, calling the comedian "disgusting" and "a slob," among other things
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In September 2010, Trump accused the imam of a proposed mosque near NYC's Ground Zero of using religion to bargain for a better real estate price.
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Joining the dubious "birther" movement, Trump fought to get President Obama to release his long-form birth certificate in April 2011.
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Trump earned the ire of environmentalists when he unveiled plans for a massive golf course in Scotland in July 2012.
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Trump upset gay rights groups when he compared gay marriage to golf in February 2013.
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In August 2013 Trump was the subject of a civil suit for allegedly false promises made to students of his Trump University.
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A new waterfront Chicago skyscraper opened in 2014 despite widespread complaints about the 20-foot-high sign bearing his name.
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Trump began a feud with Russell Brand after seeing the British comedian on a talk show and disliking what he saw.
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Trump minced no words when he tweeted about the "thugs" rioting in Baltimore in April 2015 following the death of an African American man in police custody.
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Announcing his bid for the GOP nomination in June 2015, Trump set off a media firestorm when he called Mexican immigrants criminals and "rapists."
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Trump reportedly paid actors $50 a head to attend his presidential announcement speech in June 2015.
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Billionaire’s recent public image problems are latest in long line of troubles
The U.S. Justice Department accused Trump of not renting to minority tenants in 1973.