Katy Perry has criticized the White House for using her 2010 hit song "Firework" as the soundtrack to a TikTok video depicting recent military strikes on Iranian targets. The video, posted on Thursday by the White House TikTok account, featured black and white footage timed to the "boom, boom, boom" lyric from the song, accompanied by the caption "Iran has been warned" and a firework emoji.

Perry, who sold the majority of her music catalog including "Firework" in 2023 for a reported $225 million, expressed her disapproval in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. She wrote, "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. My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare. 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."

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded by stating, "We’ll say this one last time: what’s actually barbaric, inhumane, and heinous are the criminal illegal aliens who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens."

This incident follows a similar controversy in March when singer Kesha condemned the White House for using her 2010 hit "Blow" in a TikTok video showing a fighter jet launching a missile, accusing the administration of using her music to "incite violence and threaten war." Kesha stated she "absolutely" does not approve of her music being used to promote violence.

Other artists, including pop star Olivia Rodrigo, have also expressed outrage over the use of their music in political or enforcement contexts, labeling such actions as "barbaric."

Sources