Sony told San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener to stop using Katy Perry's 'Firework' song in what he described on his Facebook page as a "kick-ass drag queen campaign video." But he and the performers are fighting back.
"Dear Ms. Perry," the three drag queens wrote in an open letter Tuesday. "We are three drag queens who perform in San Francisco and are part of our LGBT community. Your amazing song 'Firework' inspired us to make this video for our friend, Scott Wiener, an openly gay man who is running for the California State Senate."
The performers — Carnie Asada, Au Jus and Miz Palou — said they understand Sony's request and copyright infringment laws to take down the video, posted on Wiener's Facebook page on Sept. 27.
But they implored Perry to help. "While we respect these laws (and your artistic rights!), we would love to keep playing this fun video. Would you please help us and talk to Sony so that we can keep playing our video?" the letter states.
There was no immediate word from either Sony or Perry on the drag queens' request. And on Wednesday, the video championing Wiener as the right choice against fellow Supervisor Jane Kim for state assembly still remained on his website, pinned in the top position.
Wiener's campaign consultant, Maggie Muir, told NBC Bay Area Wednesday morning that the drag queens have been tweeting at Perry, hoping for a positive response.That, despite critics, like Kim O'Connor, who tweeted, "You'd think a supervisor would understand copyright laws."
"She's a big advocate of the LGBT community," Muir said. "And we hear Katy is generous with people doing parodies of her videos."
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Still, Muir conceded: "If we don't hear from her, we will take it down."
The nearly three-minute clip shows iconic images of San Francisco: the airport, the TransAmerica building, Golden Gate Park and the famous Painted Ladies Victorian homes, as the singers belt out these words to the tune of "Firework."
“The one who fights… a champion.. Working day and night for what he knows is right. Scott’s the one who will do the work…Our voice in Sacramento-oh-oh.”
Wiener is a Perry fan himself. The drag queens included a November 2011 Instagram post in their letter to the superstar where the supervisor attended one of her concerts. He was tagged with a friend and wrote, "Me and Rob at Kerry Perry concert in Vegas, channeling our inner 12 year old girls!"
For her part, Kim, Wiener's political rival, made a 30-second video ad on her website showing her as a tough black belt, using karate moves to fight evictions. She alleges Wiener is in the pocket of Republicans and doesn't care about renters.
In an email, Kim's campaign manager, Julie Edwards, wrote: "This is someone who has raised nearly $2 million for his campaign. Scott Wiener doesn't need to steal music from people. The bigger issue is Wiener's trying to make himself hip - but there's nothing hip about evicting people."
