The White House has been hit with a cease-and-desist letter from a musician whose song was featured in a promotional ad featuring Donald Trump that was paid for using tax dollars rather than campaign funds.

An attorney for JMSN, whose real name is Christian Berishaj, fired off a cease-and-desist letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Monday, objecting to the use of his song “Love Me” in the ad, known as “The Country He Loves.” The ad was one of a series of spots that have run on TV in the past week, with the White House claiming they are public service announcements yet Democrats and even some Republicans contending that they are campaign propaganda.

The letter alleges that the song was used without proper clearances and claims violation of federal copyright law. Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Action wrote in the letter that “JMSN does not want to be viewed as directly or indirectly affiliated with the President or his Administration. As he said in his Instagram post denouncing the Advertisement, he ‘would never authorize [his] music to be used for ANY political agenda or campaign.’ Thus, the use of the Song in this context, as part of an overtly partisan, political advertisement, is particularly damaging, as it could cause others to call into question JMSN’s artistic independence and integrity.”

A White House spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. Yashar Ali first reported on the cease-and-desist letter.

The ads contain messages that they are “paid for by the U.S. government.” Per NBC News, AdImpact estimates that $1.7 million has been spent to run the spots.

The stage is nearly set for AFI Fest 2026.

The American Film Institute unveiled the full lineup of films that make up the 40th edition of the Canva-presented festival at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre from Oct. 21 to 25. In all, 157 films will screen including five red carpet premieres, 12 special screenings, 13 luminaries titles, 18 discovery titles, 16 from world cinema, 17 documentaries, three after-dark films, four guest artistic director presentations, 45 shorts and 24 films from the AFI Conservatory showcase presented by AMC Global Media.

Among the selections are a number of films that got a boost from fall festival premieres like Lee Chang-dong’s Venice Film Festival Silver Lion grand jury prize winner Possible Love; Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Cannes Film Festival prize-winning All of a Sudden starring Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto; Werner Herzog’s Venice selection Bucking Fastard starring Kate Mara and Rooney Mara; Andrew Haigh’s A Long Winter starring Fred Hechinger, Kit Connor, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Caitríona Balfe; Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert’s The Idiot(s), starring Johnny Flynn and Aimee Lou Wood; Mike Leigh’s San Sebastián Golden Shell winner Tender Loving Care; and the North American premieres of Asghar Farhadi’s Parallel Tales starring Isabelle Huppert, Vincent Cassel and Virginie Efira; and Céline Sciamma’s Tutti Fruitti.

Other titles include Ilker Çatak’s Berlinale Golden Bear winner Yellow Letters; Markus Schleinzer’s Rose, starring Sandra Hüller, who won the Berlinale Silver Bear for best lead performance for her work in the black-and-white film; Sandra Wollner’s Everytime which won an Un Certain Regard prize; Marine Atlan’s Cannes’ Critics’ Week grand prize winner La Gradiva; Louis Clichy’s Iron Boy, winner of Cannes’ Un Certain Regard special jury prize; Stephanie Ahn’s Bedford Park, which snagged a Sundance U.S. dramatic special jury award for debut feature; and Lance Hammer’s Queen at Sea starring Juliette Binoche alongside Tom Courtenay and Anna Calder-Marshall, who shared the Berlinale Silver Bear for best supporting performance.

As previously announced, the roster of films includes Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky starring Anthony Ippolito; Netflix’s animated Ray Gunn from Brad Bird featuring the voices of Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell; Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine starring Rockwell and John Malkovich; Ava DuVernay’s documentary 14th; Diego Luna’s Ashes; Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth! starring Pedro Pascal as a gifted cellist; Pedro Almodóvar’s Bitter Christmas; Florian Zeller’s Bunker starring couple Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz; Arie and Chuko Esiri’s Clarissa with David Oyelowo, Sophie Okonedo and Ayo Edebiri; Simon Stone’s Elsinore starring Andrew Scott as Ian Charleson; Beth de Araújo’s Josephine starring Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan and Mason Reeves; Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love starring Rami Malek, Rebecca Hall, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Tom Sturridge and Maisy Stella; Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s Mouse starring Okonedo and Katherine Mallen Kupferer; and Leah Nelson’s animated pic about Alzheimer’s, Tangles, featuring an all-star voice cast that includes Seth Rogen and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

The fest opens with the U.S. premiere of Travis Knight’s animated Wildwood, and will feature showings of Sian Heder’s Being Heumann and Netflix’s The Mosquito Bowl from filmmaker Peter Berg and starring Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgard, Ray Nicholson and Berg. Project Hail Mary helmers Phil Lord and Chris Miller are serving as guest artistic directors. They’ll sit for a Q&A following by a screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and they’ve hand-picked Harold and Maude, The Muppet Movie and Rififi to screen.

“Our 40th edition of AFI Fest celebrates the cinematic artistry of bold, inspiring filmmakers from around the world,” said Todd Hitchcock, who serves as director of AFI Fest and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. “With more than 80 features and nearly 70 shorts, AFI Fest 2026 will once again light up the screen of the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre with a wide-ranging slate of films that includes highly anticipated awards favorites and a few surprises as well.”

“We’re thrilled to share some of the year’s most compelling films with the film lovers of Los Angeles at the 40th edition of AFI Fest — from red carpet premieres and major works by established auteurs to exciting debuts from emerging talents, this year’s lineup invites audiences to spend five days experiencing worlds beyond their own and making the connections that great art can spark,” said Abbie Algar, director of programming for AFI Fest and AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center.

Canva is the exclusive presenting sponsor while FIJI Water serves as the official water sponsor and American Airlines as the official airline. Passes to AFI Fest are now available for purchase, with individual tickets available Oct. 3.

The full lineup can be found here.