Over the past two months, the White House’s social media accounts have come under fire from many celebrities for the unauthorized use of their music. From Ariana Grande, Céline Dion, Bruce Springsteen and Sabrina Carpenter, many big names in the industry have called them. Katy Perry now joins the list as the White House recently shared a video on her account with her song, ‘Firework’ playing in the background. The pop icon recently slammed her decision online to use her song without permission, saying she was “horrified and angry” about it.
Katy Perry calls out the White House for using her song ‘Firework’
Katy Perry took to her social media account on X (formerly known as Twitter) to share her displeasure with the White House using her music for her videos. She called out officials for using the song without express permission, adding: “I am deeply appalled and angry to see ‘Fireworks’ used on the @WhiteHouse TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military attacks. I did not approve it, I was not asked to do so, and I absolutely do not condone it.“A few days ago, on July 23, the White House took to its TikTok account online to share a video compilation of missile attacks. The clip featured Perry’s 2010 song “Firework” in the background, with the video lip-syncing to the lyrics “boom, boom, boom”. The video was captioned with the words: “Iran has been warned.” The singer also shared that the song was made at the time as a way to spread hope; however, seeing his song “weaponized” while referring to the video, he condemned her decision to use his music. Perry’s tweet further read: “I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments. To see a message of self-esteem and upliftment as a weapon for soundtrack destruction and violence is a total violation of everything my song stands for. My music is about bringing people together, not celebrating war.”
Other celebrities who called out the White House for using their music
Just last month, Ariana Grande’s song ‘Bye-bye’ was used by the White House on its TikTok account as background music for a video showing clips of ICE agents arresting people. The post had been made along with the caption: “Bye-bye President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history.”The 33-year-old then called out the account for using her music, stating in the post’s comments that “please don’t ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, atrocious nonsense. M*** ice.” Following her comments and public backlash, fans later noted that Grande’s song had been muted and removed from the online video.In another case, Kenny Loggins publicly called out US President Donald Trump for using his song “Danger Zone” in an AI video last year. The musician had criticized the president in an Instagram post, writing: “I request that my recording of this video be removed immediately. I cannot imagine why anyone would want their music to be used or associated with something created for the sole purpose of dividing us. Too many people are trying to tear us apart and we have to find new ways to come together.”Similarly, SZA and Kesha had also condemned the White House and the President of the United States for using celebrity songs to gain attention and views on their posts. Kesha had also commented, “All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this. It just gives us more attention and more views on our videos because people want to see what they’re up to.”Other celebrities who have called out the Trump Administration in recent months for using their songs without permission include Linkin Park, Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo, Céline Dion, Blue Öyster Cult, Bruce Springsteen, Sabrina Carpenter and Radiohead, to name a few.