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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Robert Dex and Arts Correspondent

Donald Trump ‘did not have consent to use clip from Air movie’

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s production company said it “did not consent” to a monologue from its film Air being used in a new Donald Trump campaign video.

On Saturday, the former president posted a video featuring clips of him from throughout his life, backdropped to a speech by Damon from the new movie.

Directed by Affleck and starring him and Damon, Air follows the story of the game-changing partnership between a rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division.

It was produced by Damon and Affleck’s firm Artists Equity, which was formed last year with RedBird Capital.

A statement posted on the company’s Twitter account said: “We had no foreknowledge of, did not consent to and do not endorse or approve any footage or audio from Air being repurposed by the Trump campaign as a political advertisement or for any other use.

“Specifically in terms of any and all rights available to us under US copyright and intellectual property law, we hereby, expressly give notice that in the case of any use of material from Air by the Trump campaign where approval or consent is required, we do not grant such consent.”

Air also stars Damian Young as Jordan, while Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis plays the athlete’s mother Deloris.

Mr Trump is due to appear before a Miami federal court on Tuesday facing 37 charges, including breaches of the Espionage Act.

The indictment alleges he intentionally retained hundreds of classified documents that he took to his Florida estate after leaving the White House in January 2021.

He denies any wrongdoing and told Politico that he would not quit the 2024 presidential primary race, where he leads in the polls, even if convicted.

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