Daryl Hannah says Donald Trump administration tried to “mess Neil Young up” over American citizenship

Daryl Hannah has said the first Donald Trump administration tried to “mess Neil Young up” over his American citizenship.

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The ‘Harvest Moon’ singer is set to return to the UK and Europe as part of his ‘Love Earth’ world tour with the Chrome Hearts, which includes a bill-topping set at Glastonbury Festival in late June, and a headline slot at BST Hyde Park the following month.

In August, he’s due to return to the US for a run of North American tour dates. However, Young recently questioned if he’ll be able to re-enter the United States when the European tour wraps, due to his many criticisms of the President.

This comes after the Trump administration deported and detained several immigrants over their political views, including pro-Palestine activists, as well as those backing Ukraine over Russia.

“That’s right folks,” he wrote on his blog. “If you say anything bad about Trump or his administration, you may be barred from re-entering USA. If you are Canadian, if you are a dual citizen like me, who knows? We’ll all find that out together.”

Speaking recently to the BBC, the musician’s wife Hannah claimed Young was harassed during the first Trump administration as he went through the process of becoming a US citizen.

“They tried to every trick in the book to mess him up, and made him keep coming back to be re-interviewed and re-interviewed. It’s ridiculous,” she said. “He’s been living in America and paying taxes here since he was in his 20s.”

In light of his own speculations he may not be let back into the country, Hannah continued: “They’ve been detaining people who have green cards or visas – which is hideous and horrifying – but they have not, so far, been refusing to let American citizens back in the country, so I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

The revelation comes ahead of the release of forthcoming documentary Coastal, which was shot and directed by Hannah. It’s set to be screened in cinemas for one night only worldwide on Thursday (April 17), and you can purchase tickets here.

It promises a personal, behind-the-scenes look at Young during his 2023 tour dates and gives “an up-close and intimate view into the life of one of history’s most iconic songwriters and musicians”.

Young has been a vocal critic of the billionaire President in recent years, calling him “the worst president in the history [of] our great country”. Back in 2020, he filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Trump over his usage of his song ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’, and shared multiple open letters on his website condemning the former President’s continued unauthorised use of his music.

Last year, he granted Kamala Harris’s running mate Tim Walz permission to use the song in his own campaign to be Vice President.

More recently, he joined Joan Baez and Maggie Rogers to perform ‘Rockin’ in The Free World’ at Bernie Sanders’ Fighting Oligarchy rally.

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