Rufus Wainwright Calls Trump's Use of 'Hallelujah' Song 'Blasphemous'
By Melissa Roberto
Montauk resident Rufus Wainwright spoke out in a statement last week on October 15 after his version of “Hallelujah” was played during presidential candidate Donald Trump‘s town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania the night before.
The event grabbed headlines due to Trump’s supposed “bizarre” behavior, where the candidate stopped taking questions and stood before the crowd as a series of songs, including Wainwright’s rendition of Leonard Cohen’s classic, played in the background.
“The song ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen has become an anthem dedicated to peace, love, and acceptance of the truth. Witnessing Trump and his supporters commune with this music last night was the height of blasphemy,” Wainwright said in a statement. “The good in me hopes that…perhaps in really listening to the lyrics of Cohen’s masterpiece, Donald Trump might experience a hint of remorse… I’m not holding my breath.”
Wainwright added that the publishing company for Cohen’s estate sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Trump campaign.
This is not the first time Trump has come under fire by musicians who were angry that he used their songs allegedly without permission while campaigning. As recently as August, East Hampton’s Beyonce, the Foo Fighters and Jack White of The White Stripes all made similar complaints, according to billboard.com, which also reported that the former president claimed he had indeed obtained a license to play the Foo Fighters “My Hero” when bringing Robert F. Kennedy up to announce his support of Trump after he dropped his own bid for the presidency.
Celine Dion also complained this year that Trump had used “My Heart Will Go On” without permission.
Wainwright recently played a series of shows at New York’s Cafe Carlyle, from October 15–19, continued to make his liberal leanings clear on Instagram Sunday by celebrating MSNBC anchors Stephanie Ruhle and Alex Wagner‘s attendance at his final show in the series.
Along with a photo of him and the two anchors, Wainwright wrote: “Two of my favorite people on MSNBC came to my last show at @cafecarlyle and they didn’t even know that they were both gonna be there. Thank you for what you do, for speaking truth to power, for giving girls like mine a vision of their future. I admire you Stephanie Ruhle and Alex Wagner.”
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