Sabrina Carpenter called out the “inhumane agenda” of the Donald Trump administration after the White House used her song “Juno” in a social media video featuring ICE agents carrying out arrests.
Posted Monday, the 20-second clip opened with footage of people ostensibly protesting against ICE raids, before transitioning to a montage of agents appearing to chase down and detain allegedly undocumented immigrants. The caption quoted Carpenter’s lyrics, “Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye.”
On X, Carpenter responded to the video, writing, “This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.” (As of publication, the video was still up on the White House’s X and TikTok accounts. A rep for Carpenter did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.)
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement to Rolling Stone, “Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country. Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?”
The decision to use “Juno” in the White House clip felt especially pointed: During Carpenter’s most recent tour, she would playfully “arrest” someone in the crowd with fuzzy pink handcuffs during her performances of the Short n’ Sweet tune.
While it seems unlikely, based on her response, that Carpenter gave the White House permission to use “Juno,” it’s unclear if she will be able to do anything about. The complex web of music licenses that govern the use of copyrighted music on social media platforms could make it difficult for Carpenter to have the video removed on the grounds of copyright infringement.
While Trump has angered plenty of artists over the years for using their music without permission, the Carpenter situation most closely resembles a recent flare-up between Olivia Rodrigo and the Department of Homeland Security. The agency similarly used her song “All-American Bitch” in a video also showing ICE agents conducting raids and arrests.
Rodrigo responded on Instagram, “Don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda,” but the video remains up. (Rodrigo’s comment was also deleted, though it’s unclear if it was removed by her or DHS.)
