Joe Biden Ad Featuring Beastie Boys Removed Amidst Harassment From Trump Supporters

The Beastie Boys recently licensed their music to a Joe Biden campaign ad.

A recent ad for Joe Biden's campaign has been removed from the Internet after the owner of a Michigan bar received continued harassment from Trump supporters. The ad was a historic moment for the Beastie Boys. The group, which had never licensed their music for use in an advertisement before, finally lent a song out to the campaign.

The ad featured "Sabotage," and focused on the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on the live music industry. Joe Malcoun, who owns the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, Michigan, blamed the bar's shutdown on Donald Trump's response to the public health crisis.

Bill Russo, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, told the New York Times that Malcoun and his family were "doxxed, harassed, and threatened after the Trump campaign has sought to smear [Malcoun]."

"This is the reality of Trump's COVID response," Malcoun said. "We don’t know how much longer we can survive without any revenue. A lot of restaurants and bars that have been mainstays for years will not make it through this. This is Donald Trump’s economy: There is no plan and you don’t know how to go forward. It makes me so angry. My only hope for my family and for this business and my community is that Joe Biden wins this election.”

"Sabotage" plays towards the last third of the ad, as Biden and Kamala Harris appear on-screen.

Previously, the late Adam Yauch put in his will that music he was involved in creating couldn't be used for product advertising. Over the years, the Beastie Boys have sued Monster Energy and GoldieBox for unauthorized use of their music. However, they did allow the use of "Sabotage" in trailers for Star Trek and the video game Destiny 2.

According to a Biden campaign spokesperson, the group agreed to the song's use "because of the importance of the election."