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On September 3, 2024, a judge at Atlanta federal court ruled that Donald Trump will not use the late singer Isaac Hayes' song, Hold On, I'm Comin', in any of his rallies in the future. The news came after the artist's son Isaac Hayes III revealed on X in August that their family sued Trump and his campaign on charges of copyright infringement.
Hayes III expressed his happiness at a press conference after the hearing and shared its video on X the next day. He said that he was satisfied with the decision given by the US District Court Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. at an Atlanta federal court.
Hayes III added:
"I want this to serve as an opportunity for other artists to come forward that don't want their music used by Donald Trump or other political entities and continue to fight for music artists' rights and copyright."
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Moreover, Trump and his campaign's attorney Ronald Coleman also spoke to the reporters, stating that they were not willing to hurt anyone and thus, decided not to use the song for their campaign rallies anymore. On the other hand, the judge dismissed a motion filed by the Hayes estate to remove the previously recorded uses of the single by the Trump campaign.
As soon as the court gave its decision, netizens took to the comments section of The Shade Room's Instagram post to share their reactions to the same. The post included a video of Hayes III speaking to the reporters and a user reacted by writing:
"Stop playing music and walk in silence at this point."
A few reactions featured people recommending the names of other artists whose songs can be used by Trump. Another user shared a funny reaction, stating that Trump might start pursuing his musical career sometime in the future.
Others even expressed their support towards Isaac Hayes III, mentioning that his father would be proud of him. Some of the comments read:
Isaac Hayes III and his lawsuit against the Trump campaign explained
As mentioned, Hayes III revealed the details of his lawsuit filed against the Trump campaign on August 12, 2024. He uploaded the legal documents on X (formerly Twitter), where he requested the campaign to discontinue the unauthorized use of Hold On, I'm Comin'. He added:
"It has come to our attention that you or the campaign have authorized the illegal public performance of the song on multiple occasions during various rallies for your political campaign without authorization from the copyright holder, despite being asked repeatedly not to engage in such illegal use by our client."
The lawsuit requested the Trump campaign to remove any videos that featured Isaac Hayes' song and release a disclaimer, stating that Hayes' family prohibited the use of any property owned by them. The documents also told the campaign to pay $3 million as a "license fee amount" to the client.
The documents added a warning for the campaign which stated that in case the unauthorized use of the song continued, the family would "seek disgorgement" of the profits accumulated from the same alongside the attorney fees.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on August 12, 2024, Isaac Hayes III opened up on the reasons for suing Trump's campaign. The song was played at the National Rifle Association rally in 2022 after the Uvalde school shooting incident. Hayes III expressed his disappointment with the same by saying:
"There's just been a mass shooting. So why are we using it at the NRA convention? I wanted to take legal action because Trump has made statements against women, and here is a man who has been convicted of s*xual abuse. I'm a brother to seven sisters, and I don't want anybody to think of 'Hold On' and think of Donald Trump."
Hold On, I'm Comin' was originally released back in 1966 and grabbed the 21st spot on the US Billboard 200. Isaac Hayes released 20 albums in his career and he passed away on August 10, 2008.
