Katy Perry is just the latest in a long line of artists who have seen their music used by the American government as background music for military propaganda videos. It had happened to Ariana Grande, whose Bye had become the soundtrack of social clips in favor of ICE together with Juno by Sabrina Carpenter, but also to Olivia Rodrigo (“don't use my songs to promote your racist and hate propaganda”, her words), Kesha, Zara Larsson, MGMT, Blue Öyster Cult and the White Stripes, despite Jack White being one of the musicians most opposed to Trump's policies.
Like all the artists mentioned above, even Katy Perry, as soon as she learned that hers Fireworks had been used as the soundtrack to a video promoted on TikTok by the White House relating to military bombings, she immediately dissociated herself: «I am shocked and angry. I never approved of any of this, and I was never even asked. I don't approve of it.”
The pop star continues: «That song is an anthem of hope and healing for people who are going through dark personal moments. Seeing a message of encouragement turned into a soundtrack of destruction and violence is a complete violation of everything my song represents.” And he concludes: «My music serves to unite people, not to celebrate 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.
I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and…
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 25, 2026
Under the artist's tweet, however, some users pointed out that the master and the rights connected to Fireworks they were sold by the artist to Litmus Music in 2023. The large catalog sales of these years, in fact, open up a new scenario: having artists like Katy Perry sold their music, there is no longer a need for their approval for use.
And there are those who go further, like a Canadian user who posted and remembered some dramatic moments in Canada's recent history, namely when Justin Trudeau used the Emergency Act to quell a riot in Ottawa in January 2022 with police brutality. “You have terrible taste in choosing men,” the user commented.
