The White House’s social media accounts have drawn criticism from celebrities over the past few months for the unauthorized use of their music. Ariana Grande, Celine Dion, Bruce Springsteen, Sabrina Carpenter and many other industry giants have praised it. Katy Perry has now joined the list, with the White House recently sharing a video on their account with her song “Firework” playing in the background. The pop icon recently slammed their decision to use her song without permission online, saying she was “shocked and angry” by it.
Katy Perry accuses White House of using her song ‘Firework’
Katy Perry took to her X social media account (formerly Twitter) to express her displeasure with the White House’s use of her music in the film. She condemned officials for using the song without explicit permission, further adding, “I was shocked and outraged to see ‘Firework’ being used as the background music for a video clip of a military strike on the @WhiteHouse TikTok account. I did not approve this, no one asked me, and I absolutely do not condone this behavior.”“A few days ago, on July 23, the White House shared a video compilation of missile attacks on its TikTok account online. The clip is set to Perry’s 2010 hit “Firework,” with the video synced to the lyrics “boom, boom, boom.” The title of the video is “Iran has been warned.” The singer further stated that the song was written to spread hope at the time. However, referring to the film which saw her songs being “weaponized”, she condemned their decision to use her music. Perry’s tweet further read: “I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for those going through their darkest personal moments. To see messages of self-worth and self-improvement weaponized into a soundtrack of destruction and violence completely goes against everything my songs stand for. My music is about bringing people together, not celebrating war. “
Other celebrities accuse the White House of using their music
Just last month, the White House used Ariana Grande’s song “Bye-bye” as the background music for a video on its TikTok account that showed footage of ICE officers arresting individuals. The post was titled “Goodbye President Trump for building the most secure border in history.”The 33-year-old later accused the account of using her music, saying in a comment on the post, “Please never associate my music with this barbaric, inhumane, heinous bullshit. F***ice.” Following her comments and public backlash, fans later pointed out that Grande’s song had been muted and removed from the online video.Another example was last year when Kenny Loggins publicly accused US President Donald Trump of using his song “Danger Zone” in an artificial intelligence film. The musician lashed out at the president in an Instagram post, writing: “I demand the immediate removal of my recording of this video. I can’t imagine why anyone would want their music used or associated with something created purely to divide us.” Too many people are trying to divide us and we need to find new ways to bring us together. “Likewise, SZA and Kesha condemned the White House and the President of the United States for using celebrity songs to gain attention and opinions for their posts. Kesha also commented, “All these ‘singers’ keep falling for it. It just makes our videos get more attention and more views because people want to see what they’re talking about.”Over the past few months, a number of other celebrities have accused the Trump administration of using their songs without permission, including Linkin Park, Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo, Celine Dion, Blue Öyster Cult, Bruce Springsteen, Sabrina Carpenter and Radiohead, among others.
