ICE uses “Let down” in a video. Radiohead: “Go ahead.”

ICE used a Radiohead song in a social media campaign without permission. And not just any song: “Let Down”, the English band’s best known for some time, thanks to its new popularity on TikTok. The song appears associated with images in which the infamous anti-immigration police force (and responsible for two murders in Minneapolis) blames the “criminal violence of illegal immigrants who have torn apart thousands of American families”.

In a statement to Variety, a Radiohead spokesperson confirmed that the song “was used without the band’s permission.” The group then released this short note:

We demand that the amateurs running ICE’s social media account remove it.
It’s not funny, this song means a lot to us and other people, and you can’t take it without a fight.
Also, go fuck yourselves…
Radiohead.

just a few weeks ago, Jonny Greenwood asked for his music to be removed from the film “Melania”, the documentary about the first lady of the United States. The producer refused: “We’re working with the best lawyers; we’ve spent a lot of money on all that music and we’re thrilled to have that song in the film. If they’re trying to distance themselves from us for political reasons, that’s a shame. But I’ll still be a Radiohead fan. Tell them that if they want to discuss it, they can call me. But that song will be in the film forever.”