Cameron Mackintosh: ‘Donald Trump had no permission to use Les Mis song’

Cameron Mackintosh has moved to distance himself from Donald Trump’s use of a Les Miserables song as part of his campaigning.

At the weekend, Trump used Do You Hear the People Sing? in a rally in Miami.

However, Mackintosh and the show’s writers, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, said the song was taken without permission.

“The authors of Les Miserables were not asked for permission and did not authorise or endorse usage of Do You Hear the People Sing? at last evening’s Trump rally in Miami, and have never done so for any of the songs from the musical for this or any other political event,” they said in a joint statement.

However, they added: “But as the musical’s popularity and universal message have been part of international popular culture for more than 30 years now, countless political and social movements around the world, including the first Bill Clinton and Obama campaigns, have independently embraced songs from the musical as a rallying cry for their own cause.”

Trump’s use of the song caused an uproar on social media. Original Cosette, Rebecca Caine, wrote:

No. Fucking. Way. I'm Cosette and I do NOT SUPPORT THIS MESSAGE. https://t.co/kvDxzEa0cy

— Rebecca Caine (@RebeccaCaine) September 16, 2016