Rufus Wainwright didn’t like being “played” by Trump

Rufus Wainwright took issue with former President Donald J. Trump for playing his cover of “Hallelujah” during a bizarre rally held last night in Oaks, Pennsylvania, during which the Republican presidential candidate interrupted his election rally and danced for half an hour to the songs broadcast over the sound system, thus giving the Dems the opportunity to criticize him for his behavior.

Wainwright, who supports Vice President Kamala Harris, called Trump and his supporters’ dissemination of the song “the height of blasphemy.”

“Leonard Cohen’s song – Wainwright declared in a statement – has become an anthem dedicated to peace, love and the acceptance of truth”. And he continued: “Over the years I have been extremely honored to be connected to this ode to tolerance. Witnessing Trump and his supporters commune with this music last night was the height of blasphemy. Of course I don’t justify it in any way and I was mortified by it, but the good in me hopes that perhaps, by actually listening to the lyrics of Cohen’s masterpiece, Donald Trump might feel a hint of remorse for what he caused. I don’t have too much hope.”

Wainwright’s statement reads that the publishing company of Leonard Cohen’s estate sent the Trump campaign a cease-and-desist letter. Among the other songs played at last night’s rally – which took a strange turn after two attendees fainted, apparently due to the heat – were the cover of “Nsomething Compares 2 U“, by Sinead O’Connor, whose estate called Trump a “biblical devil”, and “Memory” from the musical Cats.