After selling off a significant portion of her music catalog in a $225 million deal, Katy Perry has called out the White House for using her 2010 song “Firework” in a TikTok video without her consent. The video, which was shared on Thursday, showcased black-and-white footage of military actions against Iranian targets, set to the lyrics of her song.
The caption accompanying the video stated, “Iran has been warned,” along with a fireworks emoji.
Perry expressed her disapproval in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Saturday, stating, “I am extremely appalled and outraged to see ‘Firework’ being used as a backtrack to video footage of a military attack on the @WhiteHouse TikTok account. I didn’t approve of this, I wasn’t asked, and I will never forgive it.”
She elaborated, saying she wrote the song as an anthem of hope and encouragement, and felt it was a violation of her principles to see it associated with destruction and violence. “My music is about bringing people together, not about celebrating war,” she concluded.
The video’s release coincided with ongoing tensions between President Trump’s administration and Iran, following recent U.S. military actions and diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation.
In response to Perry’s criticism, a White House official shared a montage from her 2012 music video “Part of Me,” which depicts her alongside Marines during military training, and questioned if that was the real representation of her stance.
Notably, earlier this year, Perry sold the rights to her music catalog, which includes her first five studio albums, for $225 million. This sale encompassed master recording royalties and publishing rights for hits like “One of the Boys” and “Teenage Dream”. “Firework,” released as a single from “Teenage Dream,” reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, and is one of her career-defining songs.
Alongside “Firework,” the deal included several of her other major hits, like “I Kissed A Girl” and “Roar.” Perry isn’t alone in objecting to the use of her music by the Trump administration; other artists, including Ariana Grande and Kesha, have also voiced their concerns regarding similar instances.
In a separate incident, Grande expressed her anger over the use of her song “Bye” in a TikTok video related to immigration enforcement, insisting her music should never be tied to such actions.
The White House had previously pushed back against celebrities for their criticisms, stating that the real issues stem from criminal activities rather than the usage of their music. Regardless, the contentious relationship between artists and the administration continues to attract attention, with various musicians speaking out against the appropriation of their work for political messaging.
