Ariana Grande tells White House: Stop using my music
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Ariana Grande commented on a White House TikTok reel: "Please do not use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense," after her 2024 hit "Bye" soundtracked a video captioned "Bye-bye... President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history."
- The White House video, posted Monday, shows border agents handcuffing individuals, placing them in vehicles, and transferring them to detention centers.
- The White House muted the video and deleted Grande's comment after she objected, with multiple users then commenting on the post to flag that her reply had been removed and the audio silenced.
- Spokesperson Abigail Jackson pushed back, telling US media the truly "barbaric, inhumane, and heinous" acts are committed by "criminal illegal aliens who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens."
- Trump signed a bill approving more than $70bn (£52bn) in funding for immigration agencies for the remaining two-and-a-half years of his term shortly before the video was posted.
- Grande joins a growing list of artists who have asked Trump's team not to use their music, following Sabrina Carpenter's 2024 objection to her song "Juno" in an ICE operations clip, and earlier 2024 re-election pushback from ABBA, Céline Dion, and Beyoncé.
Why it matters: The White House's decision to mute the video and delete Grande's comment after she objected signals a pattern of actively suppressing artist pushback, not just ignoring it. With $70bn in new immigration enforcement funding signed into law, the administration is now pairing aggressive policy rollout with efforts to scrub the public criticism it provokes from its own platforms.
Ask SkimNews
