Katy Perry on Saturday said she was “deeply appalled” that the White House used her song “Firework” in a video depicting military strikes against Iran.
“I am deeply appalled and angry to see ‘Firework’ used on the @WhiteHouse TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes. I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it,” Perry said.
“I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments. To see a message of self-worth and upliftment weaponized to soundtrack destruction and violence is a complete violation of everything my song stands for,” Perry continued.
“My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare,” she added.
According to The Hill, the song “Firework” was used in the background of a video showing a missile striking a naval ship in Iran.
The video, captioned “Iran has been warned,” generated over 6 million views and 600,000 likes.
I am deeply appalled and angry to see “Firework” used on the @WhiteHouse TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes. I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.
I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and…
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 25, 2026
The Hill shared further:
The White House TikTok account was criticized by Kesha in March for a similar video using her hit song “Blow” without her permission.
“This show of blatant disregard for human life and quite frankly this attack on all of our nervous systems is the opposite of what I stand for,” Kesha wrote in her own statement about the incident.
Beyoncé threatened legal action and issued cease-and-desists for videos that used her song “Freedom” in the background of President Trump deplaning in Michigan.
The family and estate of soul singer Isaac Hayes settled a copyright lawsuit with the Trump administration over its use of the song “Hold On, I’m Comin” during the 2024 campaign trail.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said these statements, responding to Kesha’s response, have a reverse effect. “All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this. This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos,” he wrote on the social platform X.
Mario Nawfal shared the video on X:
🇮🇷🇺🇸 Katy Perry is furious her song is now bombing Iran
The White House TikTok slapped “Firework” over footage of U.S. strikes on Iran, and Katy says she never got a call, never gave a yes, and wants nothing to do with it.
She wrote that song for people clawing out of their… pic.twitter.com/q5mz1BwMqW
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 25, 2026
Kaelan Dorr, Deputy Assistant to President Trump, responded to Perry’s post by sharing footage of her 2012 hit “Part of Me,” where she is portrayed as someone in U.S. military boot camp.
“This you?” Dorr wrote.
This you? https://t.co/Ycl14d088I pic.twitter.com/GdqhXW6T2Q
— Kaelan Dorr (@Kaelan47) July 25, 2026
USA TODAY has more:
Ariana Grande commented under a June 9 TikTok video posted by the White House depicting federal agents arresting and handcuffing people while featuring her 2024 song “Bye,” according to reports by Reuters and The Guardian.
“Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense,” she wrote. The audio and Grande’s comment were later removed.
“We’ll say this one last time: what’s actually barbaric, inhumane, and heinous are the criminal illegal aliens who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to USA TODAY on June 12.
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