PETTY FAMILY SLAMS TRUMP FOR USING SONG AT RALLY

After the Tom Petty anthem “I Won’t Back Down” was played at the Trump rally in Tulsa Saturday night, the late artist’s two daughters, Adria and Annakin, and his first and second wives, Jane and Dayna, issued a joint statement on Instagram expressing their displeasure.

“Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate. He liked to bring people together,” the statement read in part. “Tom wrote this song for the underdog, for the common man and for EVERYONE. We want to make it clear that we believe everyone is free to vote as they like, think as they like, but the Petty family doesn’t stand for this. We believe in America and we believe in democracy. But Donald Trump is not representing the noble ideals of either. We would hate for fans that are marginalized by this administration to think we were complicit in this usage.”

The family said it had issued a cease-and-desist order to the campaign.

Inevitably, the reactions to the statement spanned the political spectrum. “Unfortunately that’s a delete for you,” golfsurfski commented. Countered dm.md2, “Imagine unfollowing a rock legend’s page just because his family doesn’t agree with you politically?”

Wrote realharrystefano, “The American people ARE the underdog and the common man. The President is the best man in politics nowadays to represent that person! Common sense people who've been left behind by our msm and cancel culture! #MAGA”

Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench echoed the family’s concerns, posting on IG, “I in no way approve of Trump even whistling any piece of music associated with our band. I hope that's clear enough.”

As to whether Petty would’ve approved of the family’s condemnation, in 2000, he issued a cease-and-desist notice to the George W. Bush campaign for using “I Won’t Back Down” at campaign rallies.