Katy Perry slams White House over use of 'Firework' in military strikes video
The singer condemned officials for pairing 'Firework' with footage of military action, insisting her music was created to unite people
Katy Perry has criticised the White House after her hit song Firework was used in a social media video featuring footage of military strikes, saying the message behind the anthem was completely misrepresented.
The controversy began after the White House's official TikTok account posted a video showing missiles exploding while Perry's 2010 chart-topper played in the background.
The clip, captioned "Iran has been warned," used the lyrics "boom, boom, boom" during scenes of the strikes.
Responding on X, the singer said she had never authorised the use of her music.
"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," Perry wrote. "I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it."
The 41-year-old explained that Firework was written as a message of hope, resilience and self-belief for people facing difficult moments in their lives.
"I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength," she said, adding that using it to accompany scenes of violence was "a complete violation of everything my song stands for."
Perry stressed that her music is intended to bring people together rather than celebrate conflict.
She is the latest artist to publicly object to the Trump administration's use of music in official social media posts.
In recent months, musicians including Ariana Grande and Kesha have also criticised the White House for using their songs without consent in videos tied to government policies or military-related content.
Grande previously condemned the use of her song Bye in an immigration enforcement video, while Kesha criticised officials after her hit Blow was featured in a clip showing military action.
The White House has not indicated that it plans to stop using popular songs in its social media videos, despite repeated objections from several high-profile artists.
