Blue Öyster Cult is making sure that people have all of the facts when it comes to Donald Trump‘s recent post featuring “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.”
The band recently released a statement following the president’s use of its 1976 Billboard Hot 100 hit in an AI-generated video posted to Truth Social. In the clip, a rendering of Trump wearing a dark cloak hits a cowbell to the notorious beat of “Reaper,” while a faux JD Vance plays the drumset.
“Dems, you babies/ Here comes the reaper,” reads onscreen text in place of the song’s actual lyrics. “Gonna tie your hands … Cry baby end your plan.”
Shortly after the video was posted, the group shared a statement on its socials. “Let’s clarify a few things: BLUE ÖYSTER CULT was not contacted or notified in advance,” the group wrote.
Though the bandmates didn’t explicitly say whether they personally approved of the song’s inclusion, they did make sure to distance themselves from the video’s creation. “The copyright in the song (Don’t Fear) The Reaper is 100% owned by SONY MUSIC,” their post continued.
The rockers added, “BLUE ÖYSTER CULT has no legal right to either authorize or withhold usage, which is 100% controlled by SONY MUSIC.”
Trump’s use of a song without direct consent from its creators is nothing new to his political career. Since 2016, the billionaire has been called out by everyone from Beyoncé the the Foo Fighters, Adele, Celine Dion and Jack White for incorporating their tracks into his campaign materials and social media content without permission.
Trump’s frequent use of artificial intelligence, however, has only started up in recent years — but it’s quickly become a hallmark of his social media strategy. He’s posted countless pieces of AI-generated content to his Social Media page, including doctored images falsely portraying Taylor Swift as one of his supporters last year.
“Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site,” the pop star responded at the time in a post endorsing Kamala Harris. “It really conjured up my fears around AI and the dangers of spreading misinformation.”
This past August, the White House released its “Winning the AI Race: America’s AI Action Plan,” which showcased Trump’s support of AI as “an industrial revolution, an information revolution and a renaissance.”