"People were turning around and it was very disruptive and rude, frankly," Stipe recalled on The Late Show

R.E.M. Singer Michael Stipe Once Told Trump to 'Shut Up' at a Concert Because He Wouldn't Stop Talking

Former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe appeared on The Late Show on Thursday and told host Stephen Colbert about a time in the 1990s when he shushed the future president during his friend Patti Smith’s concert.

Stipe told Colbert that he and a friend were sitting in a VIP booth near the stage at Joe’s Pub in New York City when a businessman, whom he later revealed was Donald Trump, was sat next to him along with a date.

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The “loud” businessman kept talking to his date, Stipe recalled, and it began to frustrate him once Smith began her set.

“People were turning around and it was very disruptive and rude, frankly,” Stipe, 60, told Colbert. “[Smith] started her first song and he kept talking. I was like, ‘Excuse me, that’s my friend and you have to stop talking. You can’t talk. Stop, what are you doing? Shut up.’ I said, ‘Shut up.’ The guy got up and left. He walked out. He took his date, who he was obviously trying to pick up and left the club. And do you know who that guy was? Donald J. Trump.”

Stipe appeared on The Late Show to promote his new book, Our Interference Times: A Visual Record, but he also took time to talk about R.E.M.’s issues with Trump using their music at his campaign rallies.

The “Losing My Religion” singer and his former bandmates have been losing their patience as Trump continues to use their 1987 hit, “It’s the End of the World,” as walk-out music at his events.

“We are aware that the President* @realDonaldTrump continues to use our music at his rallies. We are exploring all legal avenues to prevent this, but if that’s not possible please know that we do not condone the use of our music by this fraud and con man,” R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills wrote on Twitter earlier this month.

Image zoom President Donald Trump (left) and Michael Stipe Mark Wilson/Getty; Jim Spellman/Getty

R.E.M. successfully campaigned for Twitter to remove a video Trump retweeted last year using their song “Everybody Hurts” while mocking Democrats.

Stipe explained on Colbert’s show Thursday that because of a licensing issue, R.E.M. could only “respectfully ask” that Trump not use their music.

“Why respectfully? Do you have to be respectful about it?” Colbert asked.