Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) released a personal, videotaped apology to Talking Heads frontman David Byrne on Monday for using one of the band’s songs without permission in a campaign video last year.
Byrne brought a $1 million lawsuit against Crist for using the song “Road to Nowhere” in a campaign video attacking his then opponent Marco Rubio, in last year’s elections. Crist’s videotaped apology is reportedly part of an undisclosed settlement reached between the two parties.
“The use of David Byrne’s song and his voice in my campaign advertisement without his permission was wrong and should not have occurred,” Crist says in the video.
“I sincerely apologize to David Byrne for using his famous song and his unique voice in my campaign advertisement without his permission,” he adds. “I pledge that should there be any future elections for me, I will respect and uphold the rights of artists and obtain permission or a license for the use of any copyrighted work.”
Byrne also released a statement lauding the settlement.
“My hope is that by standing up to this practice maybe it can be made to be a less common option, or better yet an option that is never taken in the future,” Byrne said in the statement.
Watch the video below:
