Katy Perry has slammed Donald Trump’s White House for using her song “Firework” in a TikTok video about military strikes.
In a Saturday morning post on X, Perry railed against the unauthorized use of her hit 2010 song, writing: “I am deeply appalled and angry to see ‘Firework’ used on the @WhiteHouse TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes. I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.
“I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments,” Perry continued. “To see a message of self-worth and upliftment weaponized to soundtrack destruction and violence is a complete violation of everything my song stands for.
“My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare.”
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
Perry is not the only star who has lashed out at the White House for using their songs as background music in videos showing the Trump administration’s controversial policies in action.
Just last month, Ariana Grande called out the White House for using her song “Bye” in a social media post promoting U.S. immigration arrests, describing the video as “barbaric.”
The video used Grande’s song “Bye” as background audio and was captioned: “Bye-bye. President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history.”
Grande responded in the post’s comment section. “Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. F*** ICE,” she wrote, according to Variety.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Her comment was no longer visible on the post within a matter of hours. Representatives for Grande confirmed to Variety that she had indeed posted the comment, but “for some reason it’s not publicly visible.”
Five-time Grammy-winning singer SZA has also accused the White House of “rage-baiting artists” by using their work in videos promoting its deportation efforts.
The White House shared a video in December 2025 (not dissimilar from the one that featured Grande’s song), with ICE officers making arrests, soundtracked to SZA’s “Big Boys.”
“WE HEARD IT’S CUFFING SZN,” the White House wrote in the post’s caption. “Bad news for criminal illegal aliens. Great news for America.”
SZA responded on X, claiming that the White House was deliberately provoking artists to get online engagement.
“White House rage-baiting artists for free promo is PEAK DARK,” she wrote, adding: “evil n boring.”
And shortly prior to that, Sabrina Carpenter responded after the Department of Homeland Security shared a similar video depicting ICE agents chasing and arresting people to her hit song “Juno,” calling the move “evil and disgusting.”
She demanded in an X/Twitter post: “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”