The estate of the late Sinéad O’Connor has denounced Donald Trump’s use of the singer-songwriter’s performance of “Nothing Compares 2 U” at his campaign rallies. Trump most recently played the song at events in Maryland and North Carolina in the past week.
In a statement to Variety, O’Connor’s estate and label Chrysalis Records demanded that Trump cease playing the song immediately.
“Throughout her life, it is well known that Sinéad O’Connor lived by a fierce moral code defined by honesty, kindness, fairness and decency towards her fellow human beings. It was with outrage therefore that we learned that Donald Trump has been using her iconic performance of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ at his political rallies,” the statement reads. “It is no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way by someone who she herself referred to as a ‘biblical devil.’ As the guardians of her legacy, we demand that Donald Trump and his associates desist from using her music immediately.”
O’Connor died on July 26, 2023 in London at the age of 56. In January, the Southwark Coroners Court determined that she died of natural causes.
Popular on Variety
O’Connor broke through internationally with the release of her second album, “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got,” in 1990. The record included her arrangement of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a song originally written by Prince and released under his side project the Family. Her rendition of the song reached No. 1 in several countries, including Ireland, where it stayed at the top of the charts for 11 weeks. The song earned a Grammy nomination for record of the year and best female vocal rock performance. “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” won the Grammy for best alternative music performance.
Trump, who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, is running for a second term despite having been impeached twice and indicted in several states on felony counts including falsifying business records, mishandling classified documents, conspiracy and racketeering. O’Connor joins a long list of musicians who has spoken out against Trump using their music at rallies, including Johnny Marr of the Smiths, who in January took to X to express his disappointment over Trump playing “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want.”
“I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass,” Marr wrote. “Consider this shit shut right down right now.”
Other artists who have refuted Trump’s use of their songs include Adele, Aerosmith, the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Guns n’ Roses, Leonard Cohen, Linkin Park, Neil Young, Nickelback, Ozzy Osbourne, Panic! at the Disco, Pharrell Williams, Phil Collins, Prince, Queen, R.E.M., Rihanna, the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, Village People and the White Stripes.
