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Nancy Wilson, Lizzo tear into Trump for playing their songs at $45mn military parade; ‘No Kings But Us’

Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson and pop star Lizzo voiced their objections after their music was played during the Parade on June 14.

Published on: Jun 17, 2025, 17:56:05 IST
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Two famous musicians spoke out after their songs were played during President Donald Trump’s parade and the US Army’s 250th anniversary celebration on Saturday in Washington, D.C.

FILE - Nancy Wilson, of Heart, performs during the "Love Alive Tour" at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre on Thursday, July 11, 2019, in Chicago. (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP, file) (Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP)
FILE - Nancy Wilson, of Heart, performs during the "Love Alive Tour" at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre on Thursday, July 11, 2019, in Chicago. (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP, file) (Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP)

Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson and pop star Lizzo voiced their objections after their music was played during the event on June 14. Wilson, who has performed with her sister Ann in the band Heart since 1973, criticized the use of one of their songs without permission.

“Earlier today, during a parade held in support of our nation’s military and organized by President Donald Trump,” Wilson wrote in a post made to social media after the event. “The song 'Barracuda' by Heart was played without permission or authorization from us.”

‘No Kings But Us’

Along with the post, Wilson shared a photo of herself wearing a hat that says “No Kings But Us.” This was a reference to “No Kings” protests that happened across the country during the same time as the march in Washington, D.C. The protests were against Trump’s policies.

Then she explained why song 'Barracuda' was written , “Barracuda, written and performed by Ann [Wilson] and I, is a powerful piece of music that was never intended for political use. As daughters of a U.S. Marine Corps major, we hold a deep and abiding respect for the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces. On a day meant to honor that service, it's important that music used in such settings reflects not only the tone of the event but also the wishes of the artists who created it.”

Also Read: Trump mocked over ‘tiny’ crowd at his military parade as video goes viral; Here's how many people attended the event

Wilson explains Barracuda's significance

Wilson has spoken out about Trump before. In March, she did an interview with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. She said the band’s 1975 song “Crazy On You,” which was written because of the Vietnam War, still matters today.

“We were kind of embarrassed at that time to call ourselves American because of the dirty politics of the Vietnam War,” she said. “To be as subtle as possible, it’s more embarrassing now.”

In that same interview, Wilson said “Barracuda” feels even more meaningful today. She said the song is “even more relevant in the salacious billionaire culture with the ‘grab-them-by-the-p----’ mentality,” talking about something Trump said in 2005 that was later caught on tape.

Lizzo reacts with disgusted face

Lizzo also reacted to her music being used at the event. Her song “About Damn Time” was performed by someone at the Washington celebration. Lizzo posted a TikTok video showing the clip, then made a disgusted face.

Her caption on the video was: “cease & desist.”

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