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Katy Perry has blasted the White House for using her 2010 hit song “Firework” in a TikTok post depicting footage of military strikes. The video, posted to the official White House TikTok account on Thursday, times the song’s
lyrics — “boom, boom, boom” — to clips of bomb explosions with the caption “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,” Perry wrote in an X post on Saturday morning. “I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.”
“I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments,” she continued. “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.”
The White House’s post comes as the Trump administration appears to be pausing a threatened major escalation against Iran while negotiations continue, although U.S. forces remain positioned for further attacks. Trump says Washington is “locked and loaded” but “not in a hurry,” claiming Tehran has become more serious about a possible agreement. At the same time, U.S. Central Command has continued striking Iranian missile, maritime and nuclear-related targets.
Perry is one of many artists to fire back at the Trump administration for unauthorized use of their songs for political and often violent videos, in addition to campaign rallies. In June, Ariana Grande blasted the White House for using a version of her 2024 song “Bye” in a TikTok post that depicted ICE agents arresting and handcuffing people. Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Celine Dion, Neil Young and the Rolling Stones have also criticized Trump for using their songs to rally support for causes with which they don’t agree.
