Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s production company Artists Equity has condemned the use of an audio voiceover from its recent film Air, which tells the story of the creation of the Michael Jordan-endorsed Nike Air Jordan sports shoe, in a Donald Trump campaign video.
In a statement posted to social media, Artists Equity stated it had not been consulted or given consent for the voiceover to be used. “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.” It added: “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.”
Trump posted the video to Truth Social, the social media platform he founded in 2021. It consists of a series of clips featuring Trump at various stages of his life, cut together with audio from Air, spoken by Matt Damon in the character of sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro.
The audio contains such lines as: “Money can buy you almost anything, it can’t buy you immortality. That, you have to earn.” and “You’re gonna be remembered forever, because some things are eternal.” The clip’s producers edited out specific references to Jordan in Damon’s speech (as Vaccaro), but kept in lines such as: “A shoe is just a shoe until somebody steps into it. Then it has meaning.”
Trump declared his candidacy for a second presidential term in November 2022, and denied he would withdraw despite being charged with 37 criminal counts related to his mishandling of classified documents and obstructing the US department of justice’s investigation.
