Pop star Katy Perry has slammed the White House for using her popular song “Firework” in a video showing military strikes in Iran.
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The White House posted the video on its official TikTok account. The clip featured missiles exploding as the song’s “boom, boom, boom” lyrics play.
“Iran has been warned,” the video’s caption states.
Days later, Perry took to her X account, calling out the White House for using her song.
“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,” she wrote. “I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.”
She then wrote, “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-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.”
Perry Is Among Other Music Artists Speaking Out Against the White House’s Use of Their Songs
Along with Perry, others who have spoken out against the White House using their songs are Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, Bruce Springsteen, Kesha, Ariana Grande, and Céline Dion.
Grande made it clear where she stood when the White House used her song “Bye” for a border security post.
“Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense,” she wrote. ‘Fck ice.”
The song was eventually muted in the video.
Kesha also slammed the White House earlier this year for using her song “Blow” for a military missile video post.
“It’s come to my attention that the White House has used one of my songs on TikTok to incite violence and threaten war,” she stated in an Instagram Stories post. “Trying to make light of war is disgusting and inhumane.”
White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung later responded to Kesha’s statement. “All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this. This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re b—ing about.”