The estate of late rocker Tom Petty criticized Kari Lake—a QAnon adherent and election denier who was the Republican nominee in Arizona's gubernatorial race—after she used his song "I Won't Back Down" to promote her "failed campaign."
Lake has thus far refused to concede after she officially lost the gubernatorial race to Katie Hobbs, the Arizona Secretary of State whom Lake threatened with imprisonment on baseless and unspecified allegations of criminality related to the 2020 election.
Instead, she's rehashed the playbook made popular by former Republican President Donald Trump, falsely alleging that election fraud took place, and her use of "I Won't Back Down" was her way of making this statement in an ad she released following her loss.
However, Petty's estate says the song "was stolen and used without permission or a license to promote Kari Lake’s failed campaign."
You can see the ad below.
\u201cKari Lake puts out a video tonight using Tom Petty\u2019s \u2018I Won\u2019t Back Down.\u2019 I don\u2019t think @BenyoPetty is going to like this.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1668646663
Petty's estate posted a longer statement to the rocker's official Twitter account, saying:
"This is illegal. We are exploring all of our legal options to stop this unauthorized use and to prohibit future misappropriations of Tom’s beloved anthem."
"Thank you to all of the fans who brought this to our attention and who help us protect his legacy every day.”
You can see the official statement below.
\u201cThe Tom Petty estate and our partners were shocked to find out that Tom\u2019s song \u201cI Won\u2019t Back Down\u201d was stolen and used without permission or a license to promote Kari Lake\u2019s failed campaign.\u201d— Tom Petty (@Tom Petty) 1668742005
As it turns out, Lake's choice of music is her simply mimicking Trump, who was called out by Petty's estate for using the same song when he announced a return to the campaign trail in 2020.
At the time, Petty's estate said that Petty—who made no secret of his progressive politics when he was alive—would have disapproved of Trump's use of the song, saying Trump "was in no way authorized" to use it "to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind."
\u201chttps://t.co/mxToRoHWNn\u201d— Tom Petty (@Tom Petty) 1592706122
Lake and her use of the song were immediately criticized.
\u201cTom Petty is the complete opposite of Kari Lake. I know he would not want this at all. He never would stand for her ignorance. #TrumpisaNationalDisgrace #RepublicansAreTheProblem\u201d— Ike (@Ike) 1668704473
\u201cWhen are the fascists going to understand that they don\u2019t get the art?\u201d— LyndaBB (@LyndaBB) 1668777685
\u201cElections denier & loser @KariLake should be fined & pay the Petty estate all the money, after she concedes her loss to Katie Hobbs. #loser\u201d— Juli Briskman \u262e\ufe0f \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Juli Briskman \u262e\ufe0f \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1668778322
\u201cWho would have thought Kari lake is a criminal thief\u201d— Oddemann \ud83d\ude37 aka Dark Brandon (@Oddemann \ud83d\ude37 aka Dark Brandon) 1668789543
\u201cTom Petty is one of my all time favorite singers. He would so not be into Kari Lake or what she stands for. No freaking way!\u201d— Arlyssa D. Becenti (@Arlyssa D. Becenti) 1668784385
\u201cThey are right. Having a song associated with a LOSER like @KariLake could hurt the Tom Petty brand.\u201d— Jason Selvig (@Jason Selvig) 1668784659
\u201cI love @tompetty. Just one more reason to oppose Kari Lake.\u201d— Joe Walsh (@Joe Walsh) 1668786172
\u201cBlasphemy! Against everything Tom Petty stood for\u201d— Joe Hall (@Joe Hall) 1668691101
The criticism from Petty's estate is only the latest example of Lake being called out by an arist who doesn't agree with the political beliefs of the MAGA crowd.
Earlier this year, Twisted Sister rocker Dee Snider lashed out at Lake after learning her campaign had used the band's song "We're Not Going to Take It" at her campaign rallies.
While Snider acknowledged that people don't have to "get permission to play any song at an event," referring to paid licensing agreements that allow venues to legally use an entire catalog of music, he said that he "WILL denounce" those he disagrees with.
Later, he noted the hyper conservative Lake was using a song "NEVER intended for you fascist morons" because the first line is what he called a "PRO-CHOICE anthem."
Lake's campaign was unrepentant, later responding Snider was once "anti-establishment" because he once testified before Congress about music censorship during hearings in the 1990s about the "dangers" of rock music.
