Nile Rodgers has called on a far-right Switzerland political party to “cease and desist” using ‘We Are Family’ in a campaign video.
The singer-songwriter took to social media to condemn the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) for allegedly using a “sound-alike” version of the Sister Sledge single for a political video. Rodgers originally wrote and produced the track.
He wrote: “I wrote ‘We Are Family’ to be the ultimate song about inclusion and diversity at all levels, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion or sexual orientation.
“I condemn its use by the SVP (Swiss People’s Party) or anyone else not keeping with the values of the song and all decent people. The purpose of the song is to bring joy to all with no exclusions! @HipgnosisSongs, @SonyMusicPub and @WarnerChappell are all working to have the SVP cease and desist their use of the song.”
Following reports that the right wing SVP party in Switzerland has used a #WeAreFamily sound-alike song in a political video without permission, #NileRodgers made the following statement:
“I wrote ‘We Are Family’ to be the ultimate song about inclusion and diversity at all… pic.twitter.com/Twz3sCllf8
— Nile Rodgers (@nilerodgers) August 15, 2023
The SVP have yet to respond to Rodgers’ claims and NME has contacted the political party for comment.
It comes after Matt Damon and Ben Affleck‘s production company recently called on the Trump campaign to stop using footage from their recent movie Air.
Donald Trump posted a video on his Truth Social platform that included a monologue from the Amazon Affleck directed movie in which Damon plays the Nike marketing and sales representative Sonny Vaccaro.
“Money can buy you almost anything,” Damon can be heard saying in the video as footage of Trump is shown. “It can’t buy you immortality – that you have to earn.”
A caption also stated “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” and has a link where supporters can donate to the campaign.
Meanwhile, Rodgers recently shared his concern about the merging of local BBC Introducing Radio, and expressed how he thinks it will negatively impact the music industry.