The White House has faced backlash from Ariana Grande after using her song good bye in a video showing ICE agents making arrests of undocumented immigrants.
The Grammy winner reacted to a TikTok video that featured a Border Patrol agent handcuffing an individual, accompanied by her 2024 track, good bye.
The video’s caption stated, “Goodbye… President Trump has achieved the most secure border in history.”
Grande responded swiftly, urging the Trump administration to refrain from using her music. “Please never use my music in connection with this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. Oh my god,” she expressed in the comments, as reported by Reuters.
A spokesperson for Grande confirmed to variety that her comment had been posted, but “for some reason it has not been published.”
The soundtrack was removed from the video shortly after Grande shared her disapproval, a reaction she’s become rather accustomed to in recent times.
Previously, she supported Kamala Harris during the presidential election and performed for former President Barack Obama at the White House in 2014.
In a statement provided to variety, a White House spokeswoman, Abigail Jackson, maintained a strong position, saying, “Once again, what is truly barbaric, inhumane, and heinous are the criminal illegal aliens who have harmed and killed innocent American citizens.”
The video was released after President Donald Trump approved a bill allocating over $70 billion to immigration authorities for the remainder of his term.
Grande’s stance aligns her with a rising number of artists who have publicly requested that their music not be used to further the Trump administration’s policies.
In the past, artist Sabrina Carpenter voiced similar concerns, stating, “Please don’t ever implicate me or my music to profit from inhumane policies,” after a part of her 2024 song appeared in a White House video regarding ICE operations.
Other notable artists like ABBA, Celine Dion, and Beyoncé have also requested that their music not be associated with campaign events during Trump’s re-election efforts in 2024.
