Sabrina Carpenter slams White House for using her song in deportation video
Pop star Sabrina Carpenter has publicly criticized the White House under President Donald Trump for utilizing one of her tracks in a video promoting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportations.
“This footage is reprehensible and vile,” the 26-year-old Carpenter expressed on X on Tuesday, December 2. “Never associate me or my artistry with your cruel policies.”
The previous day, the White House had shared a video depicting ICE agents apprehending individuals described as “dangerous” offenders living in the U.S. unlawfully. Carpenter’s track “Juno” served as the soundtrack for the brief 21-second segment.
“Have you experienced this one?” the White House captioned the video on X, alluding to Carpenter’s widely shared onstage poses from her concerts. “Farewell.”
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Responding to Carpenter’s statement, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson stood by the video and its message.
“Here is a concise and direct message for Sabrina Carpenter: we will not apologize for removing perilous criminal undocumented murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our nation,” Jackson declared in comments to Us Weekly on Tuesday. “Anyone who would champion these depraved individuals must be unintelligent, or perhaps dim-witted?”
(Data from the Cato Institute indicates that 93 percent of those held and processed in ICE detention facilities have not been found guilty of a violent offense, and close to two-thirds possess no criminal record whatsoever.)
Carpenter’s public statement follows shortly after she concluded the U.S. leg of her Short n’ Sweet tour, which included six capacity performances at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena.
The artist reported that the tour generated over $1.5 million for diverse charities, such as The Jed Foundation, Best Friends Animal Society, and Trans Law Center. Furthermore, the concerts “facilitated the registration of tens of thousands of new voters” through HeadCount.
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She is slated to be a headliner at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California, in April 2026.
Carpenter is not the initial public figure to protest the connection of their musical works with the Trump administration’s policies.
Back in October, Kenny Loggins garnered attention for condemning the White House’s incorporation of his popular track “Danger Zone” in a clip showing Trump soaring above "No Kings" demonstrators.
“This constitutes an unapproved deployment of my rendition of ‘Danger Zone.’ My consent was not sought, which I would have refused, and I demand the immediate removal of my recording from this footage,” the 77-year-old Loggins stated in a communiqué provided to Variety then. “I find it unfathomable why anyone would desire their music to be utilized or linked with material explicitly designed to sow discord. Many individuals are endeavoring to split us, and we must discover novel methods to unite.”
In 2024, Beyoncé similarly issued a warning of a cease and desist against the Trump campaign after they featured “Freedom” in a promotional video. That particular song subsequently served as former Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign anthem.
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The Swedish group ABBA, rock ensemble Foo Fighters, Olivia Rodrigo, and various other musicians have, throughout the years, similarly insisted that the president cease employing their works at gatherings or in visual media.
Conversely, one public figure who has voiced approval for Trump and his selection of music is Kid Rock.
“[Trump] features a multitude of excellent tracks,” the country artist remarked on Fox News in April 2024, discussing the music audible at Trump’s campaign gatherings and functions. “It’s a compilation I would personally listen to. I’ve recognized ‘House of the Rising Sun.’ I’ve even heard Springsteen numbers, you know, Elvis, Elton John, and then these nationalistic melodies would play.”
