Sabrina Carpenter is speaking out against the Trump administration after her music was used in a government video without her support.
During her Short n’ Sweet Tour, the 26-year-old pop star would jokingly “arrest” an audience member — often a celebrity — while performing her 2024 track “Juno.”
On Monday, Dec. 1, that same song was used as the soundtrack for a video shared by the Trump administration promoting ICE arrests.
“Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye,” The White House account wrote on X, echoing a lyric from the song.
Carpenter condemned the use of “Juno” in an X post on Tuesday, Dec. 2, writing: “this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”
In a statement shared on Dec. 2, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, responded: “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?”
Although Carpenter appears not to have authorized The White House to use “Juno” and publicly denounced the video, it remains unclear whether she will take any additional legal or formal action.
Several artists have previously expressed anger over Trump using their music to boost his political messaging, including Céline Dion, Bruce Springsteen, Linkin Park, Neil Young and others.
Last month, Olivia Rodrigo similarly pushed back on the use of her music to promote the Trump administration’s policies after The White House and DHS used her song “All-American Bitch” in a video about self-deportation, per Rolling Stone.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(744x256:746x258):format(webp)/olivia-rodrigo-donald-trump-120225-99d5927de94f420a8c78e85754ad1f96.jpg)
In that footage, ICE agents are shown detaining undocumented immigrants, alongside the caption: “If ICE finds you, LEAVE NOW and self-deport using the CBP Home app. If you don’t, you will face the consequences.”
Rodrigo, 22, wrote in a comment that has since been deleted, according to the outlet: “Don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda.”
At the time, a DHS spokesperson told Rolling Stone, “America is grateful all the time for our federal law enforcement officers who keep us safe. We suggest Ms. Rodrigo thank them for their service, not belittle their sacrifice.”
