Neil Young is done with the “fascist Trump regime” — and all the companies he claims are financially backing it.
On Thursday (Jan. 29), the veteran Grammy-winning rocker posted a fiery essay to his Neil Young Archives website, in which he lambasted several companies for their financial support of President Trump and his administration, namely Verizon, T-Mobile and Apple.
“One idea I have to keep [my flip phone] is just to change services and drop Verizon service like a cold fish. It’s the money I give Verizon for my service that’s doing the damage! Not my old phone I bought years ago,” he began his post, lamenting at his phone company’s Trump ties. “What can I do? I’m checking with our office to see if I can get a T-Mobile flip phone. T-Mobile is not a supporter of the Trump fascist regime. But wait….T-Mobile donated to Trump’s ballroom, which has gone from $200 million to $400 million, suddenly. Where is that money going? There is no accounting. So T-Mobile is apparently out.”
“One by one, I am cancelling all contact with each of them,” Young proclaimed. “This is not easy, but the alternative – me giving money I got from you, for my music, to the Regime that backed the illegal killings of two Americans. That can’t happen… I’m trying to not support the companies that support the regime with huge donations, while people are being shot on the streets of America, not just Minnesota, AMERICA!”
The Billboard Hot 100-topping singer’s jabs didn’t stop there, as he quickly shifted his attention to Apple CEO Tim Cook, whom he claims “was at the Melania premiere at the White House just the other night, kissing ass.” He even threatened to sue Apple if his computer “doesn’t work without the new costly upgrade.”
“I’m stopping right now to call my business manager and make sure I do not upgrade anything from Apple… Tim Cook, the Apple CEO, [is] falling over backwards to support the regime!” Young alleged. “No one stands on their own. Supporting Apple is supporting Trump? How many of these big companies that we all need are contributing to the regime one way or another? Think of the money you spend and where it goes.”
Neil Young To Remove Music From Amazon
Earlier this year, Young cut ties with Facebook, citing their “use of chatbots with children”. Now, it’s Amazon being cut off, Over Bezos’ Affiliation With Trump.
“My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at SPOTIFY,” Young wrote at the time according to Stereogum.
“I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all, so I have returned to Spotify, in sincere hopes that Spotify sound quality will improve and people will be able to hear and feel all the music as we made it. Qobuz and Tidal, where my music is presented, are all High res as well.”
In his latest post on Neil Young Archives, Young announced that his music will soon be removed from Amazon. In the message, he urged his fans to boycott Amazon, noting Jeff Bezos’ support of Donald Trump’s administration, and encouraged people to support local businesses instead.
“FORGET AMAZON AND WHOLE FOODS. FORGET FACEBOOK,” begins Young’s message. “BUY LOCAL. BUY DIRECT. BEZOS SUPPORTS THIS GOVERNMENT. IT DOES NOT SUPPORT YOU OR ME.”
Young continues,
The time is here.
FORGET AMAZON.
Soon my music will not be there. It is easy to buy local. Support your community.
Go to the local store.
Don’t go back to the big corporations who have sold out America.
We all have to give up something to save America from the Corporate Control Age it is entering.
They need you to buy from them.
Don’t.
They shut down our government
your income
your safety
your family’s health security.
Take America Back
together, stop buying from the
big corporations
support local business.
Do the right thing. Show who you are.
It’s unclear whether he means he’s merely removing his digital music library from Amazon Music or if he’s taking his physical products off Amazon too. That would be quite the gesture, but it would be consistent with the argument he’s making here.
