Sabrina Carpenter is the latest artist to clash with the White House after her music was used without permission in a government-backed social media post. The controversy began when Carpenter’s hit song Juno was featured in a montage of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, showing agents tackling, handcuffing, and pursuing individuals.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, a White House representative responded with a pointed message: “Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won’t apologise for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country.”
They continued, referencing lyrics from Carpenter’s song Manchild: “Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?”
The tension escalated on Tuesday when Carpenter publicly blasted a post from the White House’s official X account, which had layered her repeated lyric, “Have you ever tried this one?” over the ICE raid footage. In a sharp rebuke, Carpenter wrote: “This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”
This dispute is part of a growing pattern in which President Donald Trump’s administration has incorporated popular music into political videos without the artists’ support. Numerous musicians — including Pharrell, Adele, Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith, Neil Young, Rihanna, Ozzy Osbourne, Nickelback, Linkin Park, Queen, REM, and the families of Tom Petty, Laura Branigan, Prince, and George Harrison — have objected to their songs being used.
Most recently, the White House featured Taylor Swift’s music in a patriotic TikTok posted in celebration of Trump. Swift has not yet commented.
