Ariana Grande becomes latest celebrity to condemn ICE for using her music in deportation video

Her team sought to have the audio removed from the video, and the song was stripped from the clip shortly afterwards

Ariana Grande has become the latest celebrity to publicly criticise the Trump administration after the White House used her music in a social media video promoting immigration enforcement operations.

The controversy began when the White House posted a TikTok video featuring a version of Grande's 2024 song "Bye".

@whitehouse

Bye-bye 👋 President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history

♬ original sound - The White House

The clip showed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arresting and handcuffing individuals, alongside messaging praising President Donald Trump's border security policies.

Grande responded directly to the post, condemning the use of her music in connection with the video.

“Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. F**k ice,” she wrote in a comment.

Photo: TikTok

A spokesperson for the singer confirmed to Variety that Grande had posted the message, although it was not publicly visible on the platform. Her team subsequently sought to have the audio removed from the video, and the song was stripped from the clip shortly afterwards.

The White House defended the post in a statement provided to the outlet. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “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.”

The dispute prompted further exchanges between Grande and administration officials. White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai responded by referencing several of the singer's song titles while defending the administration's policies.

Grande has previously criticised the Trump administration and publicly supported Democratic candidate Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election. She also performed at the White House during Barack Obama's presidency.

The singer is currently on her Eternal Sunshine Tour and is scheduled to perform at Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena this weekend.