Why did Rihanna send Donald Trump a cease-and-desist letter?

Rihanna and Donald J. Trump seemed to have some bad blood in November 2018 when RiRi sent a cease-and-desist letter to the then-president. RiRi's legal action aimed to deny her support for Trump after her 2007 hit, Don't Stop the Music, was played at rallies in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Diamonds singer first learned about the issue when a Washington Post reporter, Philip Rucker, tweeted about the Chattanooga rally on November 5, 2018. The tweet mentioned RiRi's Don’t Stop the Music being played at the rally while Trump t-shirts were being thrown into the crowd.

Rihanna didn't seem too impressed to hear about the same and replied to Philip's tweet - "Not for much longer.."

RiRi seemingly hinted that she was not supporting Trump while saying that neither she nor her people would be present at one of those rallies.

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Rihanna's cease-and-desist notice to Donald Trump, legal complications, and more

Rihanna's team didn't take long to serve the cease-and-desist notice to Trump’s White House counsel for the alleged unauthorized use of her music.

The action put her along with major artists like Steven Tyler and Pharrell Williams, who previously warned Trump against using their music at rallies.

A November 2018 report from Rolling Stone published some excerpts from the legal notice, hinting at how RiRi was not happy about the use of her music:

“As you are or should be aware, Ms. Fenty has not provided her consent to Mr. Trump to use her music. Such use is therefore improper.”

The notice further mentioned how using Rihanna's music could cause people to believe that she was associated with or supporting Donald J. Trump:

“Trump’s unauthorized use of Ms. Fenty’s music… creates a false impression that Ms. Fenty is affiliated with, connected to or otherwise associated with Trump,” the letter continued.

The performing rights organization, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), backed Rihanna's demands and sent a similar cease-and-desist letter to Trump.

The letter referenced the “Political Entities License Agreement,” and deferred the licenses provided to the Trump campaign invalid, as RiRi had revoked her permission.

RiRi sent Trump a cease-and-desist letter in 2018 (Image via Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

A Foundation for Economic Education report from November 2018, hinted that Rihanna could revoke the licensing agreement for BMI's catalog but not with the venues.

The report further specified that the Trump administration could still play RiRi's songs at venues that had a traveling license.

The Rolling Stones band frontman, Mick Jagger, had offered a precise and simple rundown of the legal complications while doing a Twitter Q&A in October 2016:

“So, the thing is, when you appear in America...if you're in a public place like Madison Square Garden or a theater, you can play any music you want, and you can't be stopped. So, if you write a song and someone plays it in a restaurant that you go to, you can't stop them. They can play what they want.”

The Rolling Stones band first issued a cease-and-desist notice to Trump in 2016 after learning You Can't Always Get What You Want was being played at rallies. The legal notice didn't seem to have much effect on Donald Trump or his supporters as the song continued to be played at rallies in 2020.

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Rihanna's 2018 cease-and-desist letter does not seem to have made much difference, as Trump continues to use music from numerous artists at his rallies. It is not confirmed if the former president has used RiRi's songs at rallies recently.

Trump's 2024 presidential election campaigns have received legal notices from - Beyoncé, Céline Dion, Isaac Hayes’ Family, Sinéad O’Connor’s Estate, and Johnny Marr.