'I did not approve this': Katy Perry unleashes fury after 'firework' takes a shocking Trump-linked turn
WASHINGTON,DC: What began as another White House social media post quickly turned into an unexpected showdown with one of pop music's biggest stars.
Katy Perry, on Saturday, July 25 publicly condemned the Trump administration after discovering her 2010 anthem 'Firework' had been used in a government video featuring US military strikes, accusing officials of turning a song about hope into a soundtrack for war.
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.
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 25, 2026
I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and…
Katy Perry 'appalled' by Trump team
The singer addressed the controversy on social media after a White House TikTok featuring footage of military strikes surfaced online with her hit “Firework” playing in the background.
Perry stressed that she had no role in the creation or approval of the post.
“I am deeply appalled and angry to see ‘Firework’ used on the White House TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes,” she wrote.
“I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.”
The pop star went on to explain why the video’s use of the song felt so troubling to her.
Perry said she created “Firework” as “an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength” for people facing some of their most difficult moments.
She argued that combining the song’s message with images of destruction went against the meaning she intended when writing it.
“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 wrote.
“My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare.”
Perry joins growing list of artists pushing back
This is not the first instance of musicians objecting to the Trump administration’s use of their songs in official social media content.
Just last month, Ariana Grande spoke out after her track “Bye” appeared in a video promoting immigration enforcement actions.
Commenting directly on the post, Grande expressed her disapproval, writing, “Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense.”
Her representatives later confirmed that she had made the comment, despite it no longer being visible publicly.
SZA has also criticized the administration’s approach, accusing officials of intentionally using musicians’ work alongside controversial policy-related content and drawing artists into political disputes without their permission.
