Mike Huckabee pays $25k settlement after playing ‘Eye of the Tiger’ at Kim Davis rally
Failed Presidential wannabe Mike Huckabee has been left with a $25,000 bill – after playing Eye of the Tiger at a rally for anti-gay clerk Kim Davis.
The former Fox News pundit had attempted to court the anti-gay vote during his ill-fated bid for the Republican Presidential nod, firmly rallying behind Kentucky clerk Kim Davis when she was jailed for contempt of court after deliberately blocking gay weddings.
Huckabee’s campaign eventually flopped as evangelicals instead threw their weight behind Ted Cruz – who in turn lost out to Donald Trump. However, that hasn’t stopped the Republican stalwart being stuck with a hefty bill over a rally he held for Davis.
Huckabee angered the band Survivor at the rally for Davis last September, when he played the song ‘Eye of the Tiger’ without permission.
The band’s guitarist Frankie Sullivan objected to Huckabee’s use of the song, and launched legal action against him.
The former Governor of Arkansas had tried to get out of paying by claiming the event was of “a non-commercial and religious nature, signifying joy and praise at the release of Mrs. Davis from confinement”.
However, lawyers for Sullivan demolished the claim by pointed out that Huckabee had already declared the rally as a Presidential campaign expense.
It has now emerged that the two parties quietly reached an out of court settlement, with Huckabee allegedly forced to pay $25,000 damages.
According to CNN, Huckabee paid half of it in May and listed the $12,500 payment as an “itemized disbursement.”
The other half is listed as “debts and obligations.”
Sullivan explained previously: “I do not like mixing rock and roll with politics; they do not go hand in hand.
“What upset me most was that, once again, my song was being used to further a political agenda — and no one even bothered to ask for permission.”
“I do not believe in denying gay rights and the freedom for all individuals to choose the lifestyle they want to live.
“Our Constitution, and the words of our Founding Fathers, stand tall for freedom, which is what America is all about.
“I find it ridiculous in this day and age that this fight against gay marriage has gone on, even after the Supreme Court’s ruling.”
