The White House is pushing back after pop superstar Ariana Grande blasted the Trump administration for using one of her songs in a social media post highlighting immigration enforcement operations.
The dispute began when the White House shared a TikTok video featuring Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests set to Grande’s song “Bye.” The video included the caption: “Bye-bye. President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history.”
Grande quickly noticed.
The singer and actress, best known recently for her role in Wicked, responded in the comments section with a sharply worded message directed at the administration.
“Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. f– ice,” Grande wrote.
The reaction drew a response from the White House, which showed no signs of backing down.
“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,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital.
By Thursday, the audio track appeared to have been removed from the original video, though the broader political fight was already underway.
Grande’s criticism is consistent with positions she has taken for years regarding immigration and President Donald Trump. During Trump’s first administration, she participated in the Women’s March and publicly criticized several administration policies on social media.
In September of last year, Grande shared an Instagram post claiming that immigrants had been “violently torn from their families” and that communities had been damaged by immigration enforcement efforts.
She has also repeatedly aligned herself with Democratic political causes and candidates. During the 2024 election cycle, she publicly supported Kamala Harris. Earlier in her career, she performed at the White House during the Obama administration and has remained active on a variety of political and social issues.
One of her more widely circulated political posts came after Trump’s conviction in the New York business records case involving payments to Stormy Daniels. Grande shared an image of a protest sign reading: “Could someone explain which crimes get you deported and which ones get you elected President? It’s so confusing.”
The latest clash highlights an increasingly common battle between politicians and entertainers over the use of music in political messaging. Artists across the political spectrum have frequently objected when campaigns or government entities use their songs without permission or in ways they believe imply political endorsement.
In this case, however, the disagreement goes well beyond music licensing or social media etiquette. It reflects a much larger divide over immigration policy, border security, and the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement efforts.
For the White House, the video was intended to celebrate what officials describe as historic border security achievements. For Grande, it represented an immigration policy she fundamentally opposes.
Neither side appears interested in softening its position.
