Katy Perry slams White House for using her music in violent TikTok video

Entertainment·NewKaty Perry slams White House for using her music in violent TikTok videoThe 41-year-old pop star criticized the Trump administration on social media over the weekend for using one of her songs in a TikTok video.Says Firework was supposed to be an anthem of hopeHelen Surgenor · CBC News · Posted: Jul 27, 2026 1:24 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes agoPlayListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur.

We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Katy Perry sings at the FIFA World Cup Group D match at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on June 12.

Perry has criticized the Trump Administration for using her music in a video about the war with Iran. (Patrick T. Fallon/ AFP/ Getty Images)Social SharingKaty Perry is again getting political, and not just in her choice of boyfriend.

The 41-year-old pop star, who has been dating former prime minister Justin Trudeau since last July, criticized the Trump Administration over the weekend for using one of her songs in a TikTok video about the war with Iran. The nine-second video, posted Thursday on the White House account, used part of her song Firework as the soundtrack to a series of explosions — grainy footage of what appear to be recent U.S.

strikes against Iran.The explosions are in sync with the lyrics "Boom, boom, boom." The accompanying message on the video: "Iran has been warned."

Perry said Saturday she was "deeply appalled and angry to see" her music used this way."I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments," she wrote on X. "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."

The White House has not responded. Perry may not condone it, but legally, she has very little control over how that song and others are used, having sold the publishing rights for five of her albums to Litmus Music for a reported $225 million US in 2023. That deal included the Teenage Dream album which includes Firework.

Universal Music Group continues to own the masters — meaning it controls how the audio is used, shared and monetized — and Universal's music has been fully available on TikTok as part of a multi-year global licensing agreement, first struck in 2024.Other artists objectPerry is not the only artist who has criticized the Trump administration for using their work in unauthorized ways. In June, pop star Ariana Grande complained about the White House using her music in a video about its immigration policies.

"Please do not ever use my music in ​relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense," she wrote on TikTok. Perry and Justin Trudeau attend the premiere of Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour at the Tribeca Festival on June 8, in New York City. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)Bruce Springsteen has also objected to U.

S. President Donald Trump using his songs, going back to political rallies in 2016. On Friday night, the New Jersey rocker found himself on the receiving end of one of Trump's jokes at the White House Correspondents' Dinner — accused of spending more of his show focused on politics than performing.

Perry has previously supported U.S. Democrats including Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in their runs for the White House against Trump.

It's also no secret Trump is not a fan Trudeau, having told reporters after his first face-to-face meeting with Mark Carney that he was happy to see the previous prime minister gone. Perry accompanied Trudeau earlier this year to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he delivered about the virtues of soft power.ABOUT THE AUTHORHelen SurgenorJournalistHelen Surgenor is a producer for CBC News based in Toronto, currently working for the entertainment unit.

She spent years waking up before dawn to make the daily news podcast World Report. She has reported in Alberta, Iqaluit and Barbados. You can reach her at helen.

surgenor@cbc.ca.CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices·About CBC NewsCorrections and clarifications·Submit a news tip·Report errorRelated StoriesVideo'Nothing but a bully': Ford on Trump after 50% tariffs threatsVideoFederal leaders decry new tariff threat, call for Carney to implement new strategiesBryan Adams takes aim at Trump with protest song 51st StateVideoDo Canadian teens think Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry are cringe?

Cute or cringe? The internet weighs in on Trudeau's TikTok 'dancing debut' Entertainment·NewKaty Perry slams White House for using her music in violent TikTok videoThe 41-year-old pop star criticized the Trump administration on social media over the weekend for using one of her songs in a TikTok video.Says Firework was supposed to be an anthem of hopeHelen Surgenor · CBC News · Posted: Jul 27, 2026 1:24 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 mi