Sabrina Carpenter slams ‘evil and disgusting’ ICE video that uses her song | Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter took issue with Donald Trump’s White House for using her song Juno to soundtrack videos of immigration raids.
The singer responded to a video posted on the official White House wrote: “This video is evil and disgusting. Never involve me or my music for your inhuman interests.”
The White House used popular songs often linked to memes in social media content, adding a polished tone to the raids that sparked nationwide protests. The newest video features Juno’s most viral quotes: “Have you ever tried this?” Carpenter asks, referencing sex positions over several clips of ICE agents chasing, attacking, and handcuffing different people, only some with their faces blurred out.
Earlier this month, the White House used the same formula on Carpenter’s friend and collaborator Taylor Swift. In this video, Swift’s latest song, The Fate of Ophelia, is used over a montage of Trump’s many social media posts disparaging the 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 its statement regarding his comments. “Here’s a Short and Sweet message to Sabrina Carpenter: We will not apologize for deporting dangerous criminals, illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country. Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid or slow.” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, referring to Carpenter’s 2024 album Short n’ Sweet and her latest single Manchild:
Carpenter joins many other artists from Beyoncé. Foo WarriorsHe is the latest to condemn the Trump team’s use of their music for promotional purposes and to meddle in efforts to put a brazen spin on the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants. Earlier this month, pop singer Olivia Rodrigo reportedly condemned the Department of Homeland Security’s use of her song all american bitch soundtracking a video encouraging undocumented people to voluntarily leave the United States. “Never use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda,” he wrote in now-deleted posts on social media.
Weeks ago, Kenny Loggins criticized the administration’s use of his song Danger Zone in a widely condemned AI-generated video showing Trump pouring human feces on protesters in New York City. One expression In a post on his website, Loggins said he did not give permission for the song to be used for the video; This is widely considered Trump’s response to the nationwide No Kings protests against his second presidency.
“No one asked for my permission, and I would refuse, and I demand that my recording in the video be removed immediately,” he said. “I can’t understand why anyone would want their music to be used or associated with something created for the sole purpose of dividing us. Too many people are trying to divide us and we need to find new ways to come together.”
Earlier this summer, British singer Jess Glynne was more outspoken after the White House used Hold My Hand, her single popularized again by the viral Jet2 holiday ad in 2015, to soundtrack a video promoting ICE deportations. “This post really makes me sick,” she wrote on social media.
“I was devastated to see my song used in this way,” he later told the Guardian. “Hold My Hand was written about love, support, and standing by someone’s side through thick and thin; it’s meant to give hope and strength. Using it to promote something I fundamentally disagree with is completely contrary to the message of the song.” Jet2 also condemned the video and said it was “disappointing to see our brand used to support government policy in this way”.
White House, as in the video using Carpenter’s song sent Glynne posts the song clip to her official social media channels with the caption: “When ICE books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to get deported. Nothing beats that!”
In the 10 months since Trump took office for his second term, the US president has strengthened the country’s immigration enforcement, authorizing a sweeping system of mass arrests, incarcerations and deportations. Human rights experts have raised numerous concerns about the detention of children with their parents, as well as the detention of individuals without charge or due process. Official White House social media posts often celebrate these arrests and the fear they instilled in immigrant communities across the country as part of what Trump claims is an effort to combat violent crime.
While Trump claims his administration is trying to deport “dangerous criminals,” the Guardian analysis found that most people detained by ICE have never been convicted of a crime.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced a complete pause on asylum decisions, leaving 1.5 million people seeking residence in legal limbo. As part of the pressure on the immigration system, Trump vowed to “permanently halt” immigration from “third world” countries in response to the shooting of two National Guard members in D.C. by an Afghan national suspect.
