“Do not ever use my music” – Ariana Grande slams the White House
Pop star Ariana Grande has criticized the White House after it used her song Bye in a social media post promoting immigration arrests carried out by U.S. authorities.
The White House shared a video on TikTok showing officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arresting and handcuffing individuals. The clip featured Grande’s song “Bye” as background music and was captioned: “Bye-bye. President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history.”
Reacting to the post on Thursday, Grande reportedly condemned the use of her music, describing the video as “barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense” and expressing opposition to ICE operations.
According to reports, the singer’s comment later disappeared from the post. A source close to Grande told Reuters that her team was exploring options to have the song removed from the video.
Responding to the criticism, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson defended the administration’s position, arguing that the real victims were Americans harmed by individuals who entered the country illegally and committed crimes.
The incident adds to a growing number of disputes between musicians and political figures over the use of copyrighted songs in political messaging and government-related media content.