Semisonic said it did not authorize and does not condone the White House’s using its hit “Closing Time” in a video that appears to depict deportation, the band said in a statement Monday.
The video, posted on the White House’s official social media accounts Monday, features a handcuffed man being patted down while the song plays in the background: “Closing time, you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”
In the next shot, the audience can see “BORDER PATROL” in capital letters as people climb up stairs to an airplane in the background, seemingly to be deported from the United States. The rest of the song’s verse continues: “I know who I want to take me home.”
The Minneapolis rock band was quick to denounce the use of its 1998 hit.
“We did not authorize or condone the White House’s use of our song in any way. And no, they didn’t ask,” Semisonic said in a statement shared by its publicist. “The song is about joy and possibilities and hope, and they have missed the point entirely.”
Many musicians say they did not authorize President Donald Trump’s campaign or administration to use their songs.
Last year, Céline Dion’s management team and record label, Sony Music Canada, said the use of her 1997 hit “My Heart Will Go On” at a Trump campaign rally in Montana was “unauthorized.”
Rihanna did the same in 2018 after “Don’t Stop the Music” was played at another rally.
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