Kenny Loggins objects to song’s use in AI Trump video: ‘Created with the sole purpose of dividing us’
(NEXSTAR) – Kenny Loggins isn’t a fan of President Donald Trump’s latest AI video.
Loggins, a musician well known for songs including “I’m Alright,” “This Is It” and “Footloose,” issued a public response on Monday after Trump posted an AI-generated video that used snippets of his hit song “Danger Zone.”
The AI video, which Trump shared to Truth Social on Saturday night, showed the president operating a fighter jet while dumping what appeared to be feces on “No Kings” demonstrators.
“This is an unauthorized use of my performance of ‘Danger Zone.’ Nobody asked me for my permission, which I would have denied, and I request that my recording on this video is removed immediately,” Loggins said in his statement, which was posted to the musician’s official website.
“I can’t imagine why anybody would want their music used or associated with something created with the sole purpose of dividing us,” Loggins continued. “Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together. We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic. There is no ‘us and them’ — that’s not who we are, nor is it what we should be. It’s all of us. We’re in this together, and it is my hope that we can embrace music as a way of celebrating and uniting each and every one of us.”
The video, complete with “Danger Zone” playing over the imagery, continued to appear on the president’s Truth Social page as of Monday.
Loggins is far from the first musician to request Trump, or his administration, discontinue the use of their songs. In just the last few years alone, acts including the Foo Fighters, Beyoncé, ABBA, Sinead O’Connor, Isaac Hayes (via his estate) and The White Stripes have all demanded their songs not be used at Trump’s rallies or in campaign materials and social media posts.
Last month, comedian and podcaster Theo Von, who attended Trump’s inauguration in January, also requested that the Department of Homeland Security stop using a video of him to promote their deportation efforts.
Trump, meanwhile, had responded on Sunday night to reports of protestors gathering at “No Kings” rallies across the United States, saying he’s “not a king” and “works [his] a– off to make our country great.”