French musician Woodkid denounces Trump’s use of one of his songs

(Paris) French musician Woodkid denounced on Wednesday the use without his knowledge of his title Run Boy Runwhich he calls an “LGBT+ anthem,” in a Donald Trump campaign clip, calling on his record company Universal Music France to “react.”


“Once again, I never gave permission to use my music in this Donald Trump video,” the electro artist recalled in English on X, in reference to a clip from which he had already disassociated himself in December.

This montage, which the Republican presidential candidate posted again on Monday on his social network Truthsocial, compiles for nearly two minutes images of the former American president, soldiers and anti-vaccine protesters, embellished with slogans like “America first”, all to the martial-sounding title of Woodkid, released in 2012.

With lyrics including “Run, boy, run,” “This world is not meant for you,” and “They’re trying to get you,” Run Boy Run is an LGBT+ anthem written by myself, an LGBT+ musician and proud of it,” stressed the singer-songwriter, Yoann Lemoine by his real name, on X.

“How ironic!” he added, as measures such as banning transgender people from serving in the military and ending the granting of US visas to the partners of unmarried homosexual foreign diplomats were put in place during Donald Trump’s term.

“Please react and don’t be complicit,” the artist told Universal Music France.

Contacted by AFP, the group did not immediately respond.

In December, Woodkid had disapproved “on a human and political level” of the association of his music with Donald Trump’s video.

It was not the first time he had denounced this type of fact.

In 2021, he promised on Twitter “prosecution” against Génération Zemmour, a movement of young people supporting Éric Zemmour, then a far-right presidential candidate in France, after a “propaganda video using, in a totally illicit manner”, his music.

In 2016, he also spoke out on the same network against the broadcasting of his production during a demonstration of opponents of same-sex marriage in France. “It’s the medieval side of my music that must have pleased them,” he said.


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