Sabrina Carpenter slams Trump administration for using her music in ‘disgusting’ ICE video
Sabrina Carpenter is the latest artist to have a song included in a White House video promoting ICE. And she's not happy.
Sabrina Carpenter’s not mincing words when it comes to the Trump administration using one of her songs in a video promoting ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.
On Tuesday, the pop princess condemned the White House for posting a video featuring ICE arresting protesters and undocumented immigrants to one of her songs. The video, which was published on the White House’s X account one day earlier, was captioned “Have you ever tried this one?“ alongside the hearteye emoji and was paired with Carpenter’s track ”Juno.”
It’s a nod to a scene in Carpenter’s just-wrapped “Short n’ Sweet” tour, where she would playfully “arrest” someone in the crowd “for being so hot,” giving them a souvenir pair of fuzzy pink cuffs before performing “Juno.”
Carpenter, a Bucks County native, replied to the post, “this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.” Her response has been viewed more than 2 million times.
It’s the latest in a series of similar incidents, where artists ranging from Beyoncé to the Rolling Stones have objected to the White House using their music in videos promoting the Trump administration’s agenda without their consent.
Last month, Olivia Rodrigo had a similar exchange in the comments of a White House Instagram video demanding that undocumented immigrants self-deport over the singer’s track “All-American Bitch.” Rodrigo, who is Filipino American, commented at the time, “Don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda.”
The White House also used a song by Carpenter’s friend and musical collaborator, Berks County’s Taylor Swift, last month. Fans of Swift’s called out the use of “The Fate of Ophelia” in a video celebrating President Donald Trump, despite the president’s repeated slights toward the pop star. Swift herself did not comment on the video, but she has previously criticized Trump for posting AI photos of her on his social platforms.
Carpenter, 26, worked with HeadCount on her “Short n’ Sweet” tour, registering 35,814 voters — more than any other artist the nonpartisan voter registration group worked with in 2024. She’s been vocal about her support for LGBTQ+ rights and has publicly donated to the National Immigration Law Center.
When Trump won last year, she took a moment during her concert to say “I’m sorry about our country and to the women here, I love you so, so, so much.”
“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,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told the New York Times. “Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?”