White House deletes TikTok video after Ariana Grande calls out 'barbaric' use of her music
The Trump administration's habit of soundtracking its political agenda with popular music has generated a stream of pushback from artists who want no part of it.
While the likes of the Village People and Kid Rock have been happy to have their music associated with the US president, a growing number of pop stars have taken a very different view.
Earlier this year, Kesha hit out after her song was used over footage of a fighter jet firing a missile at a naval ship, while Sabrina Carpenter condemned another White House video that featured her music, calling it 'evil and disgusting.'
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Furthermore, during Trump's 2024 re-election campaign, ABBA, Céline Dion, and Beyoncé all demanded their music be removed from campaign events and rallies. And in October 2025, Kenny Loggins publicly asked Trump to take down an AI-generated video of the president piloting a fighter jet, set to Danger Zone, saying he could not imagine why anyone would want their music used 'with the sole purpose of dividing us.'
Now Ariana Grande has added her name to that list.
On Monday, the official White House TikTok account posted a video showing border agents placing people in handcuffs, loading them into vehicles, and escorting them into detention centres.
Playing over the footage was Grande's 2024 hit Bye with the caption reading: "Bye-bye... President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history".
Grande commented on the video: "Please do not use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense."
In a similar way they responded to Kesha's backlash, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told US media: "We’ll say this one last time: What's actually barbaric, inhumane, and heinous are the criminal illegal aliens who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens."
Shortly after the Wicked actress' comment appeared, the video was muted and her reply was removed.
Several social media users then commented under the post, pointing out that the sound had been removed and that Grande's response had disappeared. The post came in the wake of Trump signing a bill approving more than $70 billion in funding for immigration agencies for the remainder of his presidential term.
The Academy Award-nominated actress has previously made her views on the Trump admin clear last year, sharing an Instagram post asking those who had voted for him whether their lives had improved since he returned to office. She also reportedly wore an 'ICE OUT' pin at the Golden Globes in January, CNN reported.