Sabrina Carpenter has spoken out against Donald Trump’s White House’s use of her song “Juno” in the soundtrack of an immigration raid video.
In response to a video posted to White House
The White House has repeatedly used popular songs tied to memes in social media content, putting a glossy spin on the raids that have sparked protests across the country. The latest video overlays Juno’s most talked-about lyric, “Have you ever tried this?” Carpenter asked, referring to sex positions. In several clips of ICE agents chasing, tackling, and handcuffing various people, only some of the faces are blurred out.
Earlier this month, the White House used the same tactic against Carpenter’s friend and collaborator Taylor Swift. In that video, Swift’s latest song, “Ophelia’s Destiny,” was used in a montage of a number of social media posts disparaging President Trump’s megastar for supporting Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Swift has not publicly commented on the president’s use of her music.
The White House continued to reference Carpenter’s music in a statement responding to his comments. “Here’s a short and sweet message to Sabrina Carpenter: I make no apologies for deporting dangerous criminals, illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles. Anyone who defends these sick monsters is an idiot. Deaf or dull?” White House press secretary Abigail Jackson said, referring to Carpenter’s 2024 album “Short and Sweet” and recent single “Manchild.”
Carpenter is the latest figure to be caught up in the Trump administration’s efforts to put a cheeky spin on immigration crackdowns, joining a number of other artists, from Beyoncé to the Foo Fighters, who have decried the Trump campaign’s use of their music for propaganda purposes. Earlier this month, pop singer Olivia Rodrigo reportedly criticized the Department of Homeland Security for using her song “All American Bitch” in the soundtrack of a video urging illegal aliens to voluntarily leave the United States. “Please never use my songs to promote racist and hateful propaganda,” she wrote in a now-deleted post on social media.
Weeks earlier, Kenny Loggins was widely criticized for slamming the administration’s use of his song “Danger Zone” in an AI-generated video depicting President Trump dumping human waste on protesters in New York City. Loggins said in a statement on his website that he did not authorize the song to be used in the video, which is widely believed to be Trump’s response to the nationwide “No Kings” protests against his second term as president.
“No one asked for my permission, but I would have refused. I demand that the video recording of me be deleted immediately,” he said. “I can’t imagine why anyone would want their music to be used or associated with something that was created for the sole purpose of dividing us. Too many people are trying to tear us apart, so we need to find new ways to come together.”
Earlier this summer, British singer Jess Glynne became more outspoken after the White House used her 2015 single “Hold My Hand” (popularized again in the Jet2 holiday ad) as the soundtrack for a video promoting a number of ICE deportations. “This post honestly makes me sick,” she wrote on social media.
“I’m shocked to see my song used in this way,” she later told the Guardian. “‘Hold My Hand’ is about love, support, and being there for someone in everything, and is meant to give hope and strength. Using this song to promote something that I fundamentally disagree with is completely contrary to the message of this song.” Jet2 also condemned the video, saying they were “disappointed to see our brand being used to promote government policies like this.”
As well as a video featuring Carpenter’s song, the White House posted a clip of Glyn’s song on its official social media channels with the caption, “If ICE booked me a one-way, two-jet vacation before deportation, I couldn’t beat this!”
In the 10 months since Trump took office for the second time, the U.S. president has ramped up immigration enforcement in the country, authorizing a sweeping system of mass arrests, incarcerations and deportations. Human rights experts have expressed a number of concerns about detaining children with their parents and arresting people without charges or due process. Official social media posts from the White House often praise these arrests and the fear they have instilled in immigrant communities across the country, as part of President Trump’s alleged efforts to combat violent crime.
President Trump has claimed his administration is seeking to deport “dangerous criminals,” but a Guardian analysis found that most of those arrested by ICE have not been convicted of a crime.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced a complete suspension of asylum decisions, leaving 1.5 million people seeking residency in legal limbo. President Trump vowed to “permanently halt” immigration from “Third World” countries as part of a crackdown on the immigration system following the shooting death of two National Guard soldiers by an Afghan suspect in Washington, D.C.
