Katy Perry leads fresh celebrity backlash against Donald Trump

Katy Perry has publicly blasted President Donald Trump after her hit song Firework was used in a White House social media video showing US military strikes on Iran, insisting she never permitted for the track to be used.

The 41-year-old pop superstar took to X to express her outrage after discovering the White House TikTok had paired footage of the strikes with her 2010 anthem. 

The video, captioned “Iran has been warned,” sparked immediate backlash, with Perry making it clear she wanted no association with the post.

“I am deeply appalled and angry,” she wrote, stressing that she was neither consulted nor asked to approve the use of her music. 

The Roar singer said Firework was created as a message of “hope, healing and inner strength” for people facing difficult moments, not as a soundtrack for scenes of conflict.

She added that seeing the uplifting anthem used alongside images of destruction was “a complete violation” of everything the song represents.

The criticism carries extra significance, as the songstress famously performed Firework outside the Lincoln Memorial during celebrations marking Joe Biden’s inauguration in January 2021.

She is far from the only artist to clash with the Trump administration over the use of music. 

In recent weeks, Ariana Grande condemned the White House after her song Bye was used in a TikTok promoting US immigration arrests, calling the video “barbaric, inhumane” before the clip’s audio was later muted.

Other stars, including Kesha, Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo, have also objected to the White House using their music in politically charged social media posts.

Despite the criticism, a White House spokesperson defended the controversial video, arguing that the administration’s actions were aimed at protecting American citizens and rejecting the artists’ accusations.

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