Katy Perry said she was “appalled and angry” by the Trump White House’s video of a U.S. military strike set to “Firework,” sharing that she was not asked for approval of the song’s usage.
“I am deeply appalled and angry to see ‘Firework’ used on the [White House] TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes,” Perry wrote in a statement on social media Saturday morning. “I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.”
On Thursday, the White House shared “unclassified” footage of a military strike, along with the caption of “Iran has been warned” and a fireworks emoji. The nine-second video is set to Perry’s 2010 hit, specifically the lyrics of “Boom boom boom, even brighter than the moon moon moon.”
“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.
Perry is only the latest music act to condemn the Trump White House for using their work on official videos without permission. In June, Ariana Grande’s TikTok account commented on a White House video set to her song “Bye,” writing “Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense.” Back in December, Sabrina Carpenter blasted the administration for setting footage of arrests to her hit “Juno,” saying “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”
Jack White, Beyonce, and other artists have also threatened lawsuits for similar unapproved employment of their music.
