Celine Dion’s team condemn Trump for using My Heart Will Go On at campaign rally
By Naomi Clarke, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter
Celine Dion’s team has hit out at Donald Trump for using her classic song My Heart Will Go On during a presidential campaign rally.
The Oscar-winning song from 1997 film Titanic was played during an event in Montana.
On Saturday, her management team released a statement on behalf of the Canadian artist and her record label saying the use of the song was “in no way” authorised.
A post shared by Céline Dion (@celinedion)
The statement on Dion’s social media said: “Today, Celine Dion’s management team and her record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc, became aware of the unauthorized usage of the video, recording, musical performance, and likeness of Celine Dion singing ‘My Heart Will Go On’ at a Donald Trump / JD Vance campaign rally in Montana.
“In no way is this use authorized, and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use.
“… And really, THAT song?”
It comes after Dion made a triumphant return to live singing last month when she closed the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics amid her battle with stiff person syndrome (SPS).
The 56-year-old said she was “so full of joy” to perform Edith Piaf’s L’Hymne A L’Amour from the middle of the Eiffel Tower.
Dion has spoken candidly about SPS, revealing her diagnosis in December 2022 after cancelling her Las Vegas residency in 2021 due to health concerns.
The condition is a rare autoimmune neurological disorder that most commonly causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms, according to the Johns Hopkins Medicine website.
My Heart Will Go On is one of the five-time Grammy winner’s best known songs, alongside Think Twice and It’s All Coming Back To Me Now.
A number of artists have previously criticised Mr Trump for using their songs, including Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr earlier this year after the band’s hit Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want was played at a rally.
In 2018, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith sent a letter to the then-president ordering him to stop playing the band’s songs at political rallies, after the band’s 1993 hit Livin’ On The Edge was played at a rally in Charleston, West Virginia.
The singer had previously sent the Trump campaign two cease-and-desist letters in 2015 for its use of the band’s music.
The estates of Prince and Tom Petty have also demanded Mr Trump refrain from using the music of the late musicians, while Rihanna issued a cease-and-desist letter after he played her 2007 hit Don’t Stop The Music at an event in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne sent a notice to Mr Trump banning him from using Black Sabbath music in his campaign videos.
Other artists who have taken action after Mr Trump used their music include the Rolling Stones and Neil Young, while Linkin Park issued a cease-and-desist order after the band’s song, In The End, appeared in a video supporting the then-president.