Alternative rock band R.E.M. slammed 2016 presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz for using its song "It's The End Of The World As We Know It" during a Stop the Iran Deal rally, Salon reported. Lead singer Michael Stipe and bassist Mike Mills both released statements and said the band did not grant Cruz or Trump permission to use its song.
"Go f--- yourselves, the lot of you - you sad, attention-grabbing, power-hungry little men," Stipe said in an emailed statement to the Daily Beast. "Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign."
The band further expressed its concerns in a statement posted to its official Facebook page.
"While we do not authorize or condone the use of our music at this political event, and do ask that these candidates cease and desist from doing so, let us remember that there are things of greater importance at stake here. The media and the American voter should focus on the bigger picture, and not allow grandstanding politicians to distract us from the pressing issues of the day and of the current Presidential campaign."
When a Twitter user asked Mills his thoughts of the politicians' use of his band's 1987 hit, he simply responded: "cease and desist."
See the band's official Facebook statement and Mills' tweet below.
"While we do not authorize or condone the use of our music at this political event, and do ask that these candidates...
Posted by R.E.M. on Wednesday, September 9, 2015
@DavidCornDC Cease and desist.
— Mike Mills (@m_millsey) September 9, 2015
