Dr. Dre and his legal team aren’t holding back after Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene used one of his songs in a social media video promoting her political agenda. In a statement published by TMZ on January 9th, Howard King – Dre’s attorney – threatened legal action and didn’t care to mince words.
“You are wrongfully exploiting this work through the various social media outlets to promote your divisive and hateful political agenda,” said King. He went on to explain that Dr. Dre ‘has not, and will never, grant you permission to broadcast or disseminate any of his music,’ adding it would violate 17 U.S. Code § 501.
17 U.S. Code § 501, also known as the infringement of copyright or copyright infringement, occurs when “a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner” – according to the United States Copyright Office.
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“One might expect that, as a member of Congress, you would have a passing familiarity with the laws of our country. It’s possible, though, that laws governing intellectual property are a little too arcane and insufficiently populist for you to really have spent much time on,” King continued in his statement.
Adding to the metaphorical body blow, King explained ‘we think an actual lawmaker should be making laws not breaking laws, especially those embodied in the constitution by the founding fathers’ – citing the Copyright Act, which permits the use of someone’s song in political promotions without permission.
The incident in question occurred on January 9th, when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene shared a video on her social media celebrating her role in getting Kevin McCarthy elected House Speaker. In the video, she was seen walking the halls of Congress, receiving a call from Donald Trump, and wearing cowboy boots.
Dr. Dre’s hit song “Still D.R.E.” played in the background of the video. Greene, of course, didn’t receive permission to use the song in her video – which is the reason for King’s letter. Greene now has until January 11th at 5 pm EST to confirm in writing that she has complied with the ‘cease and desist’ request.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Responds to Dr. Dre
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted her video at 6:10 am on January 9th and Howard King responded with his statement shortly after. Around noon of that same day, Greene had already responded to the letter in a statement made to TMZ (who initially published the letter) and a second statement on Twitter.
“While I appreciate the creative chord progression, I would never play your words of violence against women and police officers, and your glorification of the thug life and drugs,” she said in her statement to TMZ. She shared that quote on Twitter, captioning it, “The next episode” – the title of one of Dre’s songs.
She was temporarily locked out of her account but has since regained access to a flood of both support and hate. One Twitter user responded, “Just take the L, no one likes you,” while another user asked, “How many times do you need to lose today, Marge?” On the other hand, some users encouraged her.
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Marjorie Taylor Greene is no stranger to conflict and/or controversy – she often makes headlines for her quotes, views, and stances.