Katy Perry has criticised the White House for using her hit song Firework in a TikTok video featuring military strike footage without her permission. Calling the use a “complete violation” of the song’s message, the singer said her music is meant to inspire hope, not celebrate violence.
Gayatri Rani
July 26, 2026 / 11:51 IST
Katy Perry criticises White House for using her music without consent
- Katy Perry criticizes White House over ‘Firework’ TikTok.
- Song used in TikTok with military attack footage.
- Perry claims use contradicts song’s message of hope.
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Singer-songwriter Katy Perry has denounced the White House for utilising her 2010 hit song ‘Firework’ in a TikTok video that included images of military attacks. Perry claims the music was used without her consent and in a way that contradicts its intended meaning.
Earlier this week, the White House’s official TikTok account posted a video that synchronised the words of the song “boom, boom, boom” with black-and-white bombing footage. The picture was captioned, “Iran has been warned,”
The 41-year-old pop sensation now took to her social media to criticise the Trump administration for using the 2010 anthem in a White House TikTok video that featured military strikes.
Perry expressed her “deeply appalled and angry” feelings on the unapproved use of her music.
She took to her X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “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 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
She continued, “I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments. To see a message of self-worth and upliftment weaponized to soundtrack destruction and violence is a complete violation of everything my song stands for.”
“My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare,” Katy concluded her tweet.
Firework, the third song from Perry’s 2010 album Teenage Dream, became one of her signature hits and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four non-consecutive weeks.
Perry has joined an increasing number of musicians who have denounced the Trump administration for using their music in unapproved political videos and campaign-related content.
Ariana Grande criticised the White House in June for utilising her song ‘Bye’ from 2024 in a TikTok video that encouraged ICE officers to make arrests.
Kesha also took issue with the Trump administration earlier this year when her song ‘Blow’ was used without permission in a TikTok that included imagery of military strikes and fighter jets with the caption ‘Lethality.’
Gayatri Rani is a Senior-Sub Editor with over three years of experience in delivering Hollywood and Bollywood news.
first published: Jul 26, 2026 11:50 am
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