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Singer Rufus Wainwright says he was horrified to see Donald Trump play his cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah at a Monday evening campaign rally.
Wainwright, who was born in the United States but grew up in Montreal, says the song “has become an anthem dedicated to peace, love and acceptance of the truth” and an “ode to tolerance.”
“Witnessing Trump and his supporters commune with this music last night was the height of blasphemy,” Wainwright said in a statement Tuesday. “Of course, I in no way condone this and was mortified, but the good in me hopes that perhaps in inhabiting and really listening to the lyrics of Cohen’s masterpiece, Donald Trump just might experience a hint of remorse over what he’s caused. I’m not holding my breath.”
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Wainwright said that the publishing company for Leonard Cohen’s estate has also sent a cease and desist letter to the Trump campaign.
In the statement, Wainwright describes himself as a supporter of Democratic Party presidential candidate Kamala Harris, saying that he is “all in” for Trump’s rival.
Trump played the song during a town hall-style rally in the Philadelphia suburbs, after pausing a question-and-answer session because of two medical emergencies in the room.
After the second person was treated, Trump spoke for a few more minutes before calling for music to be played.
“Those two people who went down are patriots,” Trump said after the music. “We love them. And because of them, we ended up with some great music, right?”
The Republican candidate then said the evening could end with the audience in their seats, enjoying some musical selections rather than hearing him answer more questions.
He called for the Village People’s YMCA and it blasted through the loudspeakers, the usual signal that Trump is done speaking and is ready to leave. But instead, the candidate remained onstage for 40 minutes as he bopped and shimmied onstage to an eclectic playlist of songs that included Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U, Guns N’ Roses’ November Rain and Wainwright’s cover of Hallelujah.
Cohen first recorded Hallelujah in 1984, but other artists have found success with covers of the song including Wainwright, who recorded his version for the soundtrack of the 2001 movie Shrek.
With files from The Associated Press.
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