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Pop singer Katy Perry on Saturday criticized the unauthorized use of her music in the background of a White House TikTok video showing strikes on Iranian targets.
The White House used her viral song “Firework” in the background of a video showing a missile blowing up a naval ship in Iran. It has garnered over 6 million views and 616,000 likes with the caption reading, “Iran has been warned.”
“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 singer said in a post on the social platform X.
“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,” Perry continued. “My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare.”
The White House TikTok account was first launched in August 2025 when President Trump threatened to ban the app.
“Every day I wake up determined to deliver a better life for the people all across this nation,” President Trump said in the first video shared to the account. “I am your voice.”
ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, announced a U.S. venture to keep operations in the country with the main objective to be to secure American’s user data.
The White House TikTok account was criticized by Kesha in March for a similar video using her hit song “Blow” without her permission.
“This show of blatant disregard for human life and quite frankly this attack on all of our nervous systems is the opposite of what I stand for,” Kesha wrote in her own statement about the incident.
Beyoncé threatened legal action and issued cease-and-desists for videos that used her song “Freedom” in the background of President Trump deplaning in Michigan.
The family and estate of soul singer Isaac Hayes settled a copyright lawsuit with the Trump administration over its use of the song “Hold On, I’m Comin” during the 2024 campaign trail.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said these statements, responding to Kesha’s response, have a reverse effect. “All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this. This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos,” he wrote on the social platform X.
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