Tom Petty’s Family Rip Donald Trump Over Unauthorized Use of ‘I Won’t Back Down’

The family of Tom Petty won't back down, sharing how upset they were that President Donald Trump used Petty's "I Won't Back Down" at his campaign rally Saturday (June 20) without consent.

This isn't the first time that Trump has run into opposition over his choice of music selections at rallies, with several artists calling out the political candidate in the past for picking songs without authorized usage. Petty's family made their feelings known about having the late singer's work attached to Trump's latest appearance in a social media post that appeared not long after the song was played.

Their statement reads as follows:

Tom Petty's song "I Won't Back Down" was used today at Donald Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa, OK.

Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind.

Both the late Tom Petty and his family firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind. Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate. He liked to bring people together.

Tom wrote the 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 the fans that are marginalized by this administration to think we were complicit in this usage. Concurrently, we have issued an official cease and desist notice to the Trump campaign.

Adria, Annakim, Dana and Jane Petty

Aerosmith, Queen, Guns N' Roses, Ozzy Osbourne and Twisted Sister are among the acts who have asked Trump not to use their music.

"I Won't Back Down" was the lead single off Petty's 1989 solo album, Full Moon Fever. It was a No. 1 Mainstream Rock Song and climbed to No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.