The Beastie Boys performing live in Barcelona, Spain, in 2007. Photo Credit: Michael Morel
The Beastie Boys made headlines earlier this week when “Sabotage” appeared in a Joe Biden campaign spot centering on the pandemic-related struggles of Michigan club owner Joe Malcoun. Now, it’s come to light that this individual is in fact a wealthy investor, and the Biden camp has pulled the advert following alleged harassment against Malcoun.
Though “Sabotage” played only during the final 20 or so seconds of the spot – following about 16 seconds of The Pixies’ “Where is My Mind?” – the placement proved noteworthy because the Beastie Boys had previously pledged not to license their music for advertising. Co-founder and bassist MCA, who passed away in 2012, wrote in his will that “in no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes.”
Moreover, the Beastie Boys doubled down on the no-advertising commitment in a 2013 copyright infringement lawsuit, stating: “Long ago, we made a conscious decision not to permit our music and/or name to be used in product ads.” Consequently, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group faced some criticism after licensing their songs for a 2016 Star Trek Beyond trailer and a 2017 Destiny 2 advertisement.
Filmed in The Blind Pig, an Ann Arbor, Michigan, bar and live music venue, the Biden campaign spot in question describes Joe Malcoun simply as “Joe, Co-Owner, Blind Pig.” Malcoun criticizes the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response throughout the video, including by claiming at one point: “I don’t know how much longer we can survive not having any revenue.”
Now, it’s been revealed that The Blind Pig businessman is also a wealthy angel investor, having inherited a substantial sum from his wife’s grandfather years back. In an interview, Malcoun described the multimillion-dollar windfall as “almost like winning the lottery,” raising questions over whether Malcoun’s purported uncertainty surrounding the club’s future is disingenuous.
Malcoun, who voluntarily opted to close The Blind Pig’s patio area about one month ago, also owns a three-building tech hub in downtown Ann Arbor, per Fox News, and serves as CEO of customer relationship software company Nutshell.
The ad spot is currently marked “private” on YouTube, and a Biden campaign spokesperson told The New York Times that Malcoun “was doxxed, harassed and threatened” for his part in the video. Additionally, this official indicated that his team knew of Malcoun’s background before releasing the ad.
Malcoun isn’t responding to media requests, and his Twitter profile is now protected.
The Bidens have been lying and receiving kickbacks for 50 years in Washington. Why anyone would vote for this pedo creep is beyond me.
Prove it. You can’t. Always empty claims and allegations from you to try and make others think something is real when it isn’t.
It’s usually the real pedos who call others pedos. You’re a creep.
Cornpop, is that you?
As usual…avoidance through diversion since you can’t prove anything. Typical from you.
Sleepy Joe has been feeding at the political trough for 47 years and has done nothing!
Wait, this phony “struggling” club owner is criticizing Trump’s Covid response, yet he opted to close his patio only a MONTH ago?
So he can’t criticize? Sure, he should be under scrutiny also, but 2nd Amendment rights! Freedom of speech!
Two points.
First, take a peek at the Bill of Rights and learn the difference between the 1st and 2nd Amendments.
Next, learn to whom those Amendments apply. Newsflash: only the government. I have every right to criticize a lying piece-of-garbage Biden supporter. Of course, that is all of them, but that is a different story.
Yeah, you tell them, you ignorant uninformed biased bastard, you!
Rentboi late this morning?