Kari Lake’s ‘I Won’t Back Down’ Video Tweet Mocked: ‘Loser’

Republican Kari Lake, who recently lost the Arizona gubernatorial election to Democrat Katie Hobbs, is being ridiculed online for refusing to concede her loss and sharing a video of herself featuring the Tom Petty hit song “I Won’t Back Down.”

The nearly two-minute video shared to Lake’s Twitter account on Wednesday evening shows clips of the Republican campaigning as the 1989 hit by Petty, the rock legend who died in 2017, plays in the background. A spokesperson for the Petty estate told Newsweek that Lake’s use of the song was “not approved or endorsed.”

While some of the responses to Lake’s tweet included supporters who praised her and baselessly claimed that she had “won” the election, others mocked her and pointed out that she will not be Arizona governor next year despite her refusal to concede.

“LOSER,” tweeted @Cblevind.

“Hmmmmm… You already lost,” @BrandiLynn4Ever tweeted. “There’s no fight for you to back down from. It’s over.”

“This is really sad,” tweeted @pitchmyWalkman. “You’re the girl who tries to steal the crown at homecoming. Sorry princess, you didn’t get enough votes.”

“You lost,” @StephanieRade18 tweeted. “You are in fact a loser. Get over it!”

“You’re NOT a candidate any longer, and NOT CONCEDING doesn’t change the results,” tweeted @Ducey55.

“LOL you don’t have to back down @KariLake,” @1Liberty3 tweeted. “But you won’t be Governor either.”

Some also noted that Petty’s estate, which previously threatened legal action against former President Donald Trump for using the song, would likely take a negative view of Lake’s video.

Petty himself, who was politically left-leaning, once threatened to sue former President George W. Bush for using the song but praised former President Barack Obama after he used it during an event in 2012.

“Look, maybe you won’t back down, but you might find you’ll need to cease and desist,” @jamesakbeach tweeted. “@tompetty’s family have made themselves pretty clear.”

“Tom Petty hated everything Lake stands for, and I find it utterly fascinating how that doesn’t seem to matter to republicans,” tweeted @veryhumdrum. “Its like if AOC would use a Ted Nugent song in a campaign ad.”

“This is the second worst thing to ever happen to Tom Petty,” tweeted @thebarbra1.

Lake is closely associated with Trump and is a prominent supporter of the former president’s false claims of a “stolen” 2020 presidential election.

Trump, who endorsed Lake’s losing campaign, received a cease-and-desist letter from Petty’s estate after using “I Won’t Back Down” at a 2020 campaign event.

A statement issued by Petty’s family at the time said that the late musician “would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate.”

“Tom wrote this song for the underdog, for the common man and for EVERYONE,” they said. “We believe in America and we believe in democracy. But Donald Trump is not representing the noble ideals of either.”