Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Tom Petty's Estate Rips Kari Lake For Using Song Without Permission To Promote Her 'Failed Campaign'

Tom Petty; Kari Lake
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic/Getty Images; John Moore/Getty Images

The late rocker's estate released a statement calling out the failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate.

Make us preferred on Google

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.

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.

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."

Lake and her use of the song were immediately criticized.


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.

More from Trending

George Conway; Laura Loomer
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for CNN; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

George Conway Epically Trolls Laura Loomer After She Claims New York DMV's Credit Card Machine Displayed 'Palestinian Flag'

Conspiracy theorist and acolyte of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump Laura Loomer drew widespread ridicule over her latest outrageous claim. Lawyer and ex-husband of Trump staffer Kellyanne Conway turned anti-Trump activist George Conway lead the charge on calling Loomer out on her latest nonsense.

On October 7, Loomer shared a photo on X that was allegedly taken at a Department of Motor Vehicles office in New York City. The MAGA influencer also tagged NYC's progressive Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani's personal X account.

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Collins
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Susan Collins Dragged After GOP PAC Boosts Her Campaign In The Wrong Portland

On July 4, 1786, the city of Portland, Maine, was officially founded with its newly-minted name. Almost 60 years later in 1845, Maineiac Francis Pettygrove won a coin toss against Asa Lovejoy and named their soon-to-be incorporated city in Oregon Portland after the largest city in his home state of Maine.

Since then, Portland, Oregon, has swelled to a city of approximately 675,000 people while its namesake boasts a population of just 70,000. In 2026, when people hear Portland, they think of Oregon instead of the original city in Maine.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Whitey Taylor
CNN

CNN Just Visited A Struggling MAGA Store—And It Spells Bad News For Trump

CNN correspondent Elle Reeve returned to Whitey Taylor's Trump Town USA in Boones Mill, Virginia, for the first time since visiting in 2023, and her segment shows that business for the Donald Trump-themed shop has collapsed as more MAGA followers break away from the president.

Reeve, in a segment for Anderson Cooper 360, reported that "things aren't what they used to be" for the store. She spoke with Taylor, who revealed that the store, which used to make $12,000 to $15,000 in sales per day now only makes between $1,500 - $2,000 per day. On occasion, Taylor will hit $3,000 in sales if he's lucky.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pete Hegseth
Alex Wroblewski / AFP via Getty Images

Pete Hegseth Roasted After Video Of Him Trying And Failing To Keep Up With Marines Goes Viral

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was widely mocked after he was shown struggling to keep up with Marines while running around a track during a recent training.

In a C-SPAN video shared by FactPost on X, Hegseth is shown lagging beyond the pack as Marines jog around a track in San Diego.

Keep ReadingShow less
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a Washington, D.C., press conference on American jobs and visa fraud.
C-SPAN

JD Vance Blasted After Sharing His Absolutely Mind-Numbing Definition Of 'Socialism'

According to Merriam-Webster, socialism broadly refers to economic and political systems centered on collective or government ownership and control of the means of production.

Not exactly a concept requiring a Ph.D. to explain. One would think Vice President JD Vance, a Yale Law School graduate whose party practically uses the word as punctuation, could manage a working definition.

Keep ReadingShow less