The estate representing late singer Sinéad O'Connor has demanded that former President Donald Trump stop using her music at his campaign events.
The move came after "Nothing Compares 2 U" was played during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland on Saturday, Feb. 24.
The statement came after 'Nothing Compares 2 U' was played during the Conservative Political Action Conference last month.
"Throughout her life, it is well known that Sinéad O'Connor lived by a fierce moral code defined by honesty, kindness, fairness, and decency towards her fellow human beings," said the statement obtained by BBC.
"It was with outrage therefore that we learned that Donald Trump has been using her iconic performance of 'Nothing Compares 2 U' at his political rallies," the note continues.
"It is no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt, and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way by someone who she herself referred to as a 'biblical devil.'
"As the guardians of her legacy, we demand that Donald Trump, and his associates desist from using her music immediately."
O'Connor died from natural causes last July at age 56. "Nothing Compares 2 U" was her biggest hit. The track made it to No. 1 on the singles chart in several countries including the U.S., the U.K., Australia and her native Ireland.
The singer is also remembered for her fierce activism.
While appearing on Saturday Night Live in 1992, O'Connor called out the Catholic church for its rampant sexual abuse of minors while performing a cover of the Bob Marley track "War."
Her statement was considered deeply controversial at the time, but in recent years sexual abuse by church leaders around the world has come to light via more official channels, leading to a large number of lawsuits.
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'It is no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt, and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way,' the statement says.
This is not the first time Trump has been asked to stop using an artist's music at his events. The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Adele, Elton John, Rihanna, Linkin Park and Nickelback are among the dozens of musicians who have made similar requests.
One of the latest examples came from the Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr.
"I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass," he said in response to a Jan. 23 tweet that shows the band's 1984 song "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" at a Trump event in South Dakota. "Consider this s**t shut right down right now."
Marr's former bandmate Morrissey has become an outspoken supporter of conservative political positions in recent years.
Disputes like this have a long history in American politics. In 1984, former President Ronald Reagan played Springsteen's hit track "Born in the U.S.A" during a campaign event in New Jersey.
"America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts; it rests in the message of hope in songs so many young Americans admire: New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen," Reagan said. "And helping you make those dreams come true is what this job of mine is all about."
Springsteen responded two days later at a press conference by sharing his track "Johnny 99," which is about an unemployed auto factory worker who ends up committing murder. It appeared on the 1982 record Nebraska.
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