Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity Company Responds to Donald Trump’s ‘Air’ Audio Usage
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are taking a stand against Donald Trump’s use of “Air” audio in a new social media video.
On Saturday, Trump shared a video on his social media platform, Truth Social, where the ex-president of the United States promoted his upcoming 2024 presidential candidacy with compilation clips of his supporters and indictment headlines. A jarring error, however, was the use of audio from Damon’s speech (as Sonny Vaccaro) in the 2023 Air Jordan origin film — which was non-consensually used, according to Damon and Affleck’s production company Artists Equity, as reported in Entertainment Weekly.
“We had no foreknowledge of, did not consent to and do not endorse or approve any footage or audio from ‘Air’ being repurposed by the Trump campaign as a political advertisement or for any other use,” a spokesperson said in a statement to the magazine. “Specifically in terms of any and all rights available to us under US copyright and intellectual property law, we hereby, expressly give notice that in the case of any use of material from ‘Air’ by the Trump campaign where approval or consent is required, we do not grant such consent.”
The clip follows Trump’s indictment in early June on seven counts involving his mishandling of classified documents. Incidents include keeping defense secrets that violate the Espionage Act, making false statements and conspiring to obstruct justice, according to The New York Times. The ex-politician has stated he is innocent, though the occasion marks a historical first — he is the first former U.S. president to ever face federal charges.
Previously, Trump has also faced conflict from using audio from a range of television shows, films and musicians without permission over the years, including HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and audio from Prince, Queen, Neil Young and Tom Petty.