In the wake of the release of her new song, “I Won’t Back Down,” Lara Trump has accused Apple Music of shadow-banning her and asserted that a Times Square billboard firm ‘discriminated’ against her by refusing to display an advertisement with the name “Trump.”
Lara, 40, the wife of Eric Trump, the son of former President Donald Trump, released a cover of Tom Petty’s 1989 song on Friday. She claims that because of her family background, streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify have ‘buried it well down’ and made it practically impossible to locate.
Sadly, given our last name, it was to be expected. I wish I was surprised, but I’m not,” she exclusively said to DailyMail.com.
The ex-TV producer claimed that shortly after the song went live at midnight, she started getting a ton of messages from individuals complaining that they couldn’t find it online.
The song was released at midnight, but today I’ve been inundated with messages from individuals complaining that they’ve been seeking for my song on Apple Music but can’t locate it or that it’s buried deep.
I haven’t gotten in touch with Apple since I’ll leave that to my music producer, but everyone can see what’s going on. Some people don’t even provide my song as a choice.
Lara’s version of the song does not appear in the search results for I Won’t Back Down on Apple Music.
The music only displays underneath eight other songs when you click on Lara’s name, including spoof songs like “Fake News II” and a fake rap duel between her father-in-law and Hillary Clinton.
Additionally, when you search for her entire name on Spotify, you can access the song even though the track’s name is not among the results.
DailyMail.com has requested comment from Spotify and Apple Music.
Lara also claimed that she had paid for a billboard in Times Square, New York City, to advertise the new song through a Clear Channel media outlet.
However, she claimed that only hours before it was scheduled to go live, the agency informed her that they didn’t want to run the ad with her full name because “the Trump name is a problem,” which Lara blasted as “discriminatory” and “insulting.”
We were supposed to have a billboard with my name and the song’s cover coming up in Times Square today, much like you may see it if you play the music in your car, she said.
“We paid for it, and we signed the contracts a week ago.” However, [two hours] prior to the billboard’s scheduled launch, [Clear Channel] sent a message to my producer stating that “The Trump name is a problem for us.”
They want to run the billboard with simply Lara and no mention of Trump. I replied “No. This is who I am. It feels a little discriminatory, and it’s demeaning to me.
The billboard was arranged by a marketing agency, and a representative from that company stated in an email conversation with Lara’s team, “Hey, so the Trump name of the billboard is an issue,” according to screenshots shared by Lara’s music producer. Is it okay this way, without Trump’s name?
Minutes before the billboard was scheduled to go live, the billboard’s organizers sent a follow-up message to Lara’s team informing them that their ad had been “rejected” because it promoted a song that “conveys a political message.”
‘Upon evaluating your supplied billboard, it has come to our attention that they were disqualified due to the use of a cover song that expresses a political statement,’ the text, which was shared with DailyMail.com, stated.
Please be advised that we do not allow such content on our platform.
Lara responded to the rejection by the billboard firm by saying, “This same billboard company was eager to host Black Lives Matter advertising, Planned Parenthood advertising, & Teachers Union advertising… But there’s a problem with the music cover I made. Disgusting.’
Lara stated earlier this month that she was releasing a cover of the song via her Instagram. Lara formerly worked as a story organizer and producer for Inside Edition from 2012 to 2016, and she also had a brief stint as a contributor for Fox News from 2021 to 2022.
She captioned a video of herself taking the footage at the time, “I did a crazy thing today.” It will be heard on September 29.
Lara maintained that she is ‘not attempting to be a professional singer’ during an interview with DailyMail.com about her fledgling music career and that she only wants to share her ‘passion for music.
Lara exclaimed, “I love music, I’ve played the piano my entire life, and my kids love hearing me play the piano.”