Katy Perry Slams White House for Using Her Song ‘Firework’ in Video Showing Military Strikes

Katy Perry criticized the White House for using her song ‘Firework’ in a TikTok video showing military strikes. ‘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,’ she wrote on social media.

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Katy Perry criticized the White House for using her song “Firework” in a TikTok video showing military strikes

“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,” she wrote on social media

Other artists, including Ariana Grande and Kesha, have also condemned the White House for using their music without consent

Katy Perry is slamming the White House for using her song “Firework” in a video showing footage of military strikes.

On Thursday, July 23, the White House’s official TikTok account shared a video set to Perry’s 2010 hit that features clips of missiles exploding as the lyrics “boom, boom, boom” play.

“Iran has been warned,” the video’s caption read.

On Saturday, July 25, Perry, 41, shared a post on X, criticizing the use of 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. I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it,” the musician 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,” she continued. “My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare.”

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Perry joins many other musicians — including Céline Dion, Bruce Springsteen, Linkin Park, Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter and Radiohead — who have told the Trump administration to stop using their music on social media and other platforms since the beginning of the president’s second term.

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Last month, Ariana Grande hit back after the White House posted a TikTok promoting its crackdown on immigration, featuring various clips of ICE officers and officers from other agencies arresting people. The video was set to the Wicked star’s song “Bye.”

“Bye-bye 👋 President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history,” the caption read, referencing the accompanying song from Grande’s Eternal Sunshine album.

Grande, 33, responded in the comments section on June 11. “Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. fck ice,” she wrote. The song was later muted on the video.

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Kesha spoke out against the White House in March after her 2010 pop hit “Blow” was used in a video featuring a fighter jet firing a missile at a naval ship and an explosion.

“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 wrote in an Instagram Stories post on March 2. “Trying to make light of war is disgusting and inhumane.”

In response to Kesha’s statement, White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung reposted her words on X, adding, “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 bitching about.”

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