R.E.M. Responds To Trump's Use Of 'Everybody Hurts' On Twitter

R.E.M. is not pleased with their song "Everybody Hurts" being used as the soundtrack to a meme mocking Democrats' reactions to the State of the Union. And when Donald Trump tweeted the meme on Friday (February 15), the band fought back. And actually won.

As CNBC reported, the video was taken down after R.E.M.'s publisher Universal Music Publishing Group and bassist Mike Mills complained. Twitter's reason for removal was "in response to a report from the copyright holder.” The president eventually deleted the tweet all together.

"World Leader PRETEND!!! Congress, Media--ghost this faker!!! Love, R.E.M." the band tweeted in response to the song's usage. "World Leader Pretend" is in reference to the band's 1988 song of the same title, which features the lyric “I raised the wall and I will be the one to knock it down.”

Check out R.E.M.'s tweet below.

This isn't the first time the president got reprimanded for using R.E.M.'s music. The band also took offense when Trump used its 1987 hit "It's The End Of The World (As We Know It)" during a campaign rally in 2015.

“Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign,” singer Michael Stipe said at the time.

Photo: Getty Images


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