The White House quietly removed a video from X that promoted recent ICE arrests after Sabrina Carpenter’s critical response went viral — but a new version of the clip later appeared on its TikTok account.
On Monday, Dec. 1, the Trump Administration posted a video showcasing immigration and customs enforcement officers detaining people while Carpenter’s hit song “Juno” played in the background. Over clips of the arrests, the lyric “Have you ever tried this one?” repeated multiple times, and the post was captioned, “Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye 👋😍.”
Following intense backlash — much of it driven by Carpenter’s own reaction — the White House deleted the video from its X account on Friday, Dec. 5. Under the original post, the “Manchild” singer had left a comment that drew more than a million likes, calling the video “evil and disgusting.”
“Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” Carpenter, 26, wrote in her X post on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Although the original clip is no longer visible on X, the White House has kept a version of the content on its TikTok account, now without the audio. On Friday afternoon, officials uploaded a new video that splices together footage of arrests with a moment from Carpenter’s Saturday Night Live appearance alongside Marcello Hernandez. In the sketch, Carpenter jokes about needing to arrest someone for being too “hot”; in the edit, that word is replaced with “illegal.” The TikTok is captioned, “PSA: If you’re a criminal illegal, you WILL be arrested & deported. ✨”
On her Short n’ Sweet Tour, Carpenter has often incorporated a playful “arrest” bit into performances of “Juno,” bringing a fan — sometimes a celebrity — onstage as part of the song.
The specific audio featured in the administration’s original video comes from a viral TikTok trend built around “Juno.” In the trend, users mimic different sex positions each time the lyric “Have you ever tried this one?” plays, mirroring Carpenter’s onstage routine from the tour.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Dec. 2, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson sharply criticized Carpenter’s stance. “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,” Jackson said. “Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?”
Carpenter now joins a growing list of artists who have objected to the Trump Administration’s use of their music in promotional material. Musicians who have previously voiced similar frustrations include Céline Dion, Bruce Springsteen, Linkin Park, Neil Young and Olivia Rodrigo.
