Katy Perry has lashed out at the Trump administration for using her hit song Firework in a White House TikTok video showcasing US military strikes against Iranian targets, declaring she never consented to the use and condemning what she sees as a perversion of her message.
The White House posted the video to its TikTok account with Firework playing over footage of a missile strike on an Iranian naval ship. The post carried the caption: Iran has been warned. It has since accumulated more than 6 million views.
Perry responded Saturday with a statement on X, making clear her objection was not merely about permission but about principle. "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," she wrote. "I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it."
She expanded on her frustration in blunt terms. "I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments," Perry said. "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 joins a growing roster of artists who have publicly denounced the Trump administration's pattern of incorporating their music into government social media content without authorization, particularly in videos tied to military operations and immigration enforcement.
Olivia Rodrigo criticized the White House after one of her songs appeared in a video promoting deportation efforts. Sabrina Carpenter spoke out when her hit Juno was featured in a post showing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers making arrests, calling it "evil and disgusting" and demanding the administration stop using her music "to benefit your inhumane agenda."
In March, Kesha condemned the White House for using Blow in a military promotional TikTok video, describing it as a "show of blatant disregard for human life." Ariana Grande labeled a video using her song Bye to promote US immigration arrests as "barbaric." Jess Glynne said she felt "sick" that her music was being used to spread "division and hate" in a post about ICE deportations.
Beyonce took a different approach, blocking Trump from using her song Freedom after it appeared in a campaign video. The track had been central to Kamala Harris's presidential campaign last year.
The White House launched its TikTok presence in August 2025, months into Trump's second presidency, after he threatened to ban the platform earlier in the year.
Perry's relationship with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau adds another layer to the timing of her rebuke. Trudeau has himself been a frequent target of Trump's barbs, including threats of tariffs on Canada and references to annexing the country, with the former leader at one point called the "governor" of the "Great State of Canada."
The music disputes come as questions swirl around casualty figures from the US-Iran conflict. The Defense Casualty Analysis System lists 14 service members killed and 420 wounded. But those numbers have drawn scrutiny after dropping from 18 deaths and 482 wounded recorded just days earlier.
The Trump administration has attempted to separate the latest airstrikes, which resumed July 6 after a ceasefire collapsed, from Operation Epic Fury, the military's official designation for the broader Iran conflict. This would allow the newer strikes to be tracked under a different casualty accounting system beginning July 7.
US House member Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, flagged the discrepancy on X. "The Pentagon is pretending there have been two Iran wars separated by a brief cease-fire," Massie wrote. "By going more than 90 days without congressional authorization, the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, IS BREAKING THE LAW and must be held accountable."
Author James Rodriguez: "The White House is learning what every studio executive knows: pop stars own their work, and they're willing to fight back when it gets misused."
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