Ben Affleck and Matt Damon‘s lifelong friendship has seen the duo rack up awards season glory, box office success, and critical acclaim aplenty, but one thing they absolutely will not stand for is Donald Trump appropriating one of their collaborations without receiving approval.
The recently-indicted former reality TV star and WWE Hall of Famer unleashed a fundraising advertisement that found Damon’s memorable monologue from acclaimed 1980s-set drama Air being used as a promotional tool, and Artists Equity – the production company co-founded by the actors and longtime BFFs – wasted no time in issuing a hearty rebuttal.
“We had no foreknowledge of, did not consent to and do not endorse or approve any footage or audio from Air being repurposed by the Trump campaign as a political advertisement or for any other use. Specifically in terms of any & all rights available to us under U.S. copyright and intellectual property law, we hereby, expressly give notice that in the case of any use of material from Air by the Trump campaign where approval or consent is required, we do not grant such consent.”
One of the best-reviewed movies of the year that not enough people saw on the big screen, Air‘s 92 percent Rotten Tomatoes score was hardly reflected in its lukewarm $90 million box office haul, even if releasing on Prime Video mere weeks after its theatrical rollout was partly to blame. Either way, Trump’s team decided it would make the perfect accompaniment to his latest bout of self-promotion, even if they didn’t think asking for permission first was something worth doing.