SZA is speaking out against Donald Trump’s administration after her music was featured in a new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) video that she says was created specifically to provoke artists into reacting online.
Her comments arrive amid escalating tension between musicians and political figures over the unauthorized use of songs in campaign and policy messaging. Artists including Olivia Rodrigo, Jack White, Céline Dion, Bruce Springsteen, Linkin Park, R.E.M., Neil Young and, most recently, Sabrina Carpenter have all criticized the Trump Administration for using their work without consent — with Carpenter calling out the use of one of her songs in a video promoting ICE arrests just last week.
After Carpenter’s response went viral, the White House quietly removed that video — then followed up with a second clip that used her likeness. On Monday, Dec. 8, they shared yet another video, this time pulling SZA into the controversy.
Set to the Grammy winner’s track “Big Boys,” the new video shows ICE officers in military-style gear carrying out arrests.
The White House caption read: “WE HEARD IT’S CUFFING SZN. Bad news for criminal illegal aliens. Great news for America.”
SZA, 34, swiftly denounced both the message and the use of her music.
“White House rage baiting artists for free promo is PEAK DARK ..inhumanity + shock and aw tactics … Evil n Boring” she wrote in an X post on Wednesday, Dec. 10, calling the move an attempt at “rage baiting” artists for engagement by pairing her song with the video.
After her post gained traction, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson replied publicly, using the moment to reinforce the administration’s immigration stance instead of addressing artists’ concerns about how their work is used.
“Thank you, SZA, for drawing even more attention to the tremendous work America’s ICE officers are doing by arresting dangerous criminal illegal aliens from American communities,” Jackson said.
“Big Boys,” which SZA recorded for a 2022 Saturday Night Live digital short, originally appeared in a comedic music video that quickly became a fan favorite during her guest appearance.
Another SNL-related clip — this one featuring Sabrina Carpenter and Marcello Hernández — was posted to the White House account on Friday, Dec. 5. The video repurposed footage of the pair promoting the “Espresso” singer’s SNL hosting gig, playing off her Short n’ Sweet tour bit where she “arrests” celebrities in the crowd.
“I think I might need to arrest someone for being too hot,” Carpenter says in the original sketch, but in the edited version shared by the White House, the word “hot” was replaced with “illegal.” “Well, I turn myself in,” Hernández responds.
“You’re under arrest—,” Carpenter continues, before the clip cuts into a montage of ICE officers detaining people.
Carpenter previously condemned another ICE-themed video in which her song “Juno” was used over footage of raids shared by the White House.
“This video is evil and disgusting,” she said at the time. “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”
