Tom Petty estate responds to Kari Lake video: Don’t do me like that

PHOENIX — Did Kari Lake back down after Tom Petty’s estate threatened legal action over her use of the late rocker’s classic “I Won’t Back Down” in a video?

Lake posted the video, a 2-minute montage of clips from her campaign backed by Petty’s 1989 classic, to her social media accounts on Wednesday.

The Tom Petty estate and our partners were shocked to find out that Tom’s song “I Won’t Back Down” was stolen and used without permission or a license to promote Kari Lake’s failed campaign. pic.twitter.com/DoT71whO43

— Tom Petty (@tompetty) November 18, 2022

The verified @tompetty Twitter account, apparently alerted by the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s fans, expressed its displeasure in a post Thursday night.

“The Tom Petty estate and our partners were shocked to find out that Tom’s song ‘I Won’t Back Down’ was stolen and used without permission or a license to promote Kari Lake’s failed campaign,” the tweet said.

“This is illegal. We are exploring all of our legal options to stop this unauthorized use and to prohibit future misappropriations of Tom’s beloved anthem.”

Lake’s video using the song was deleted from Twitter by Friday morning, but it’s not clear if she removed it or the platform did. The video was still up on Lake’s Facebook and Instagram pages as of 8 a.m. Friday. By around 10:30 a.m. Friday, the Facebook version was gone.

Lake’s lawyers are already quite busy. She said she’s exploring legal action after her loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs in Arizona’s gubernatorial race, citing Election Day issues with in-person voting in Maricopa County.

“Rest assured, I have assembled the best and brightest legal team and we are exploring every avenue to correct the many wrongs that have been done this past week,” Lake said in a video Thursday morning.

The defiant and uplifting “I Won’t Back Down” — the lead single from Petty’s solo debut without the Heartbreakers, “Full Moon Fever” — has a history of political theater.

Most recently, Petty’s estate issued a cease and desist order when Lake’s hero, then-President Donald Trump, used the song at a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2020.

pic.twitter.com/mxToRoHWNn

— Tom Petty (@tompetty) June 21, 2020

Petty, who died of an accidental drug overdose in 2017 at age 66, was still alive when he told Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush to stop playing “I Won’t Back Down” at his 2000 campaign appearances.

Petty performed the song later that year at Democratic nominee Al Gore’s home after Gore conceded his race against Bush.

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