Family of Isaac Hayes suing Donald Trump for using music at rally

The estate of Isaac Hayes, the legendary soul musician and actor, has issued a cease-and-desist order to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign for the unauthorized use of Hayes’ hit song “Hold On (I’m Coming).”

The letter demands that the campaign pay $3 million, remove any campaign media using the song, and publicly acknowledge that the use of the song was not authorized by Hayes’ estate or family.

The estate’s attorneys highlighted that the $3 million demand is a “very discounted fee,” compared to the standard $150,000 per use. They also warned that failure to respond by August 16 would result in a lawsuit.

This legal action follows a public statement by Hayes’ son, Isaac Hayes III, condemning the campaign for using the song at rallies despite repeated requests to stop.

“Today, on the anniversary of my father (Isaac Hayes’) death we have repeatedly asked Donald Trump, the RNC and his representatives not to use ‘Hold on I’m Coming’ written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter during campaign rallies but yet again, in Montana they used it,” he wrote. “Donald Trump represents the worst in integrity and class with his disrespect and sexual abuse of Women and racist rhetoric. We will now deal with this very swiftly.”