Did Melania Trump ‘Rickroll’ in speech?
CLEVELAND, United States—Did 1980s pop star Rick Astley make an unwitting cameo appearance in Donald Trump’s wife Melania’s speech at the Republican convention?
It may not be as serious as allegations that her speech plagiarized First Lady Michelle Obama, but a number of people are also seeing in her lines a reference to Astley’s song “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
READ: Melania Trump: prime-time debut tarnished by plagiarism
The Slovenian-born model said of her billionaire husband on the convention’s opening day Monday: “He will never, ever give you up. And, most importantly, he will never, ever let you down.”
READ: Melania Trump’s Team Denied that They Allegedly Plagiarized Michelle Obama’s Speech
Such sentiments are common in speeches by political spouses but her sentences happen to closely mimic those in the chorus of Astley’s 1987 smash hit.
The song has had an unlikely comeback in recent years as an online meme known as “Rickrolling” in which unsuspecting internet users receive links to the video for “Never Gonna Give You Up,” with the tidily dressed English singer swaying his hips.
A number of social media users juxtaposed Ashley’s song and Melania Trump’s speech, leading some to become true believers that the aspiring first lady was Rickrolling the convention in Cleveland.
Scrutiny has turned to Melania Trump’s speechwriter after her remarks contained striking similarities to the address by President Barack Obama’s wife Michelle when she addressed the 2008 Democratic convention.
“My truther theory: Melania’s speechwriter slipped in a Rickroll to let us know they were tanking it on purpose,” New York hip-hop radio host Jay Smooth tweeted.
Others felt some immediate effects from the online story.
Ireland-based Twitter user @brassafrax wrote: “I’ve had Rick Astley stuck in my head all day. Thanks a bunch, Melania Trump.”
“Never Gonna Give You Up” has been watched more than 224 million times on YouTube, an extremely high number for a nearly 30-year-old song.
