White Stripes drop copyright lawsuit against Donald Trump

On November 13, 2024By Littum

The White Stripes dropped their copyright lawsuit against former and soon-to-be President Donald Trump over the weekend.

Jack White and Meg White, the members of Detroit-based rock duo The White Stripes, sued the former Republican president, his campaign and his deputy communications director two months ago for superimposing the band’s rock anthem “Seven Nation Army” on videos posted to social media . The musicians said the campaign did not seek a license to use the song in the posts.

The White Stripes’ attorney, Robert A. Jacobs, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal and released all claims against the defendants on Sunday.

As is often the case when cases are dropped, there is no public information about what kind of agreement or settlement the two parties may have reached.

Jacobs declined to comment for this story. The Tennessean has sought comment from White Stripes publicist and Trump attorney Ron Coleman.

Jack White has made it clear for years that he is not a fan of Trump. When the former president’s re-election campaign video using “Seven Nation Army” was posted on social media on Aug. 29, White took to Instagram to announce his plans to sue, adding, “Don’t even think about using my music , You fascists.” The White Stripes said in the lawsuit that the Trump campaign ignored attempts to resolve the issue, which the band said had no choice but to sue.

When the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Sept. 9, White captioned his Instagram post on the first page of the complaint: “This machine is suing fascists.”

Audrey Gibbs contributed to this story.

Evan Mealins is a justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMe -one lens.