Kenny Loggins to Trump: Stop Using My Song
Kenny Loggins performs on the Shell Gentilly Stage during the third day of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans on Sunday, April 30, 2023. (Scott Threlkeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Singer Kenny Loggins has called on President Trump to remove his iconic hit “Danger Zone” from an AI-generated video shared on Trump’s Truth Social account Saturday night, according to NPR.
The video shows a crown-wearing President Trump piloting a fighter jet labeled “KING TRUMP,” soaring over what appears to be Times Square and releasing brown sludge over protesters—an image many believe was meant to symbolize fecal matter. The clip was reportedly posted in response to nationwide “No Kings” protests held the same day.
“Danger Zone,” made famous in the 1986 Top Gun soundtrack, was used without Loggins’ authorization. In a statement issued Monday, the singer demanded that the song be removed, telling NPR he would not have approved its use if asked.
“I can’t imagine why anybody would want their music used or associated with something created with the sole purpose of dividing us,” Loggins said. He added, “Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together. We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic. There is no ‘us and them’—that’s not who we are, nor is it what we should be. It’s all of us. We’re in this together, and it is my hope that we can embrace music as a way of celebrating and uniting each and every one of us.”
When NPR and Variety reached out for comment, a White House spokesperson responded with a lighthearted Top Gun meme captioned, “I FEEL THE NEED FOR SPEED.”
While musicians frequently raise objections to their work being used by political figures, legal experts note that permission is generally not required if appropriate licensing fees are paid to rights holders—though artists do retain the right to restrict use in campaign advertisements.
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