Ariana Grande has publicly condemned the Trump administration after the official White House TikTok account used her music as the soundtrack to a video compilation of ICE agents arresting and handcuffing individuals — and she did not hold back.
The pop superstar took to the comments section of the White House’s TikTok post to make her position unambiguously clear, describing the administration’s immigration policies as “barbaric, inhumane and heinous.” In a more blunt expression of her feelings, she also directed two words squarely at the enforcement agency at the centre of the controversy: “f*** ICE.”
The post in question, published on Tuesday by the official White House account, was a montage set to Grande’s song “Bye” — footage depicting ICE agents carrying out arrests and placing individuals in handcuffs. For Grande, the use of her music to accompany imagery she finds deeply objectionable was a line that could not go unchallenged.
Her message in the comments was direct: she does not condone the video, does not endorse the message, and did not authorise the use of her music.
The administration was not slow to respond. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson issued a sharp rebuttal, stating:
“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.”
Grande’s outrage did not emerge from nowhere. She has been openly critical of ICE for some time. At the 2026 Golden Globes, she was photographed wearing an “ICE OUT” pin on the red carpet — a subtle but deliberate political statement on one of entertainment’s biggest nights.
She has also used her platform of 363 million Instagram followers to actively share resources, including scripts for contacting senators about ICE activity and information on the NYC Deportation Defense Hotline.
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Grande joins a growing list of high-profile names who have spoken out against ICE, including Pedro Pascal, Jamie Lee Curtis, Eva Longoria, and Tyler the Creator — celebrities who have been particularly vocal in their opposition to the administration’s immigration enforcement approach.
She also joins a specific and increasingly long list of musicians who have publicly objected to the Trump administration’s use of their music without consent or endorsement — a list that includes Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Rihanna, and Sabrina Carpenter, among others.
Not every artist, however, has chosen to engage. Taylor Swift drew notable attention last year for her silence when the White House used her song “The Fate of Ophelia” in a promotional social media video — a conspicuous absence of comment from one of music’s most influential voices.
On the opposite end of the spectrum sits Nicki Minaj, who has been openly supportive of Donald Trump and his administration — a stance that has placed her at odds with many of her industry peers.
The episode is the latest flashpoint in an ongoing tension between the Trump White House and the entertainment industry — a culture war being fought, increasingly, one unauthorised song at a time.
For Ariana Grande, the message is clear: her music is not a tool for policies she considers an affront to basic human dignity, and she will say so publicly, loudly, and without apology.