'Height of condemnation': Rufus Wainwright and Leonard Cohen estate oppose Trump's use of Hallelujah

The estate of Leonard Cohen has issued a cease and desist order to Donald Trump, following a recording of Rufus Wainwright singing Cohen's song Hallelujah at a bizarre campaign event.

Wainwright also condemned Trump's use of the song at a town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania. The singer characterized Hallelujah as “an anthem dedicated to the recognition of peace, love and truth. I have been honored over the years to be associated with this anthem of tolerance. To witness Trump and his supporters interacting with this anthem last night was the height of blasphemy.” Of course, I didn't reject it by any means, but the good in me hopes that maybe between living and actually listening to Cohen's masterpiece, Donald Trump might feel a hint of remorse for his cause.”

The song was one of a number played by Trump during a question-and-answer session at The Oaks, where numerous audience members required medical treatment amid high temperatures. Trump first joked about the heat – “Personally, I enjoy it. We lose weight. We can do it, lose four, five pounds” – and then switched to playing music like a recording of Luciano Pavarotti on Ave Maria, saying: “Let's ask no more questions. Let's just listen to music.”

Alongside Hallelujah, James Brown's It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World, The Village People's YMCA and Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U were also played, as well as Guns N' Roses' epic power ballad November Rain.

Trump later wrote on Truth Social: “The Q&A was almost over when people started fainting from the excitement and heat. We started playing music while we waited, and continued to do so. So different, but it ended up being a great evening!”

Kamala Harris captioned a clip of the event with the words: “Hope he's ok.”

It has become common for artists to object to having their music played at Trump campaign rallies and events. In August, Beyoncé blocked the use of her song Freedom — the licensed soundtrack to the Harris-Walz campaign — after it appeared in a Trump campaign video. Earlier that month the estate of the late Isaac Hayes objected to the use of the Hayes-penned Sam & Dave hit Hold On, I'm Comin'.

Many other artists, from Rihanna to the Rolling Stones, have disputed the fact that the phenomenon has a Wikipedia page.

Hallelujah, meanwhile, remains a modern pop standard, performed by dozens of artists since Cohen's initially overlooked release in 1984. The most famous version was recorded by Jeff Buckley in 1994, but it was inspired by John Cale's 1991 version, when Wainwright followed. In 2001, recorded for the Shrek soundtrack.

Alexandra Burke's version reached Christmas No.1 in the UK in 2008 when she won The X Factor, featuring Bob Dylan, Bon Jovi and Bono among other artists.