The White House has responded after Ariana Grande objected to one of its recent social media posts, saying her music should not have been used alongside footage of ICE arrests.
Earlier this week, the White House shared a TikTok video that featured Grande’s song ‘Bye’ while officers were shown detaining and arresting people. The post has since had its audio removed.
The caption attached to the clip read: “Bye-bye [waving hand emoji]. President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history.”
Grande later addressed the post directly in the comments, writing: “Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. F**k ice.” Her comment is no longer visible on the upload at the time of writing.
A representative for the singer confirmed to Variety that Grande had posted the comment, though they said they did not know why it was no longer showing. The spokesperson also said efforts were being made to have the audio taken down.
Asked about the backlash, a White House spokesperson told the publication: “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 is the latest example of a broader pattern in which musicians have pushed back against the use of their songs in political messaging without their approval, particularly when the music is paired with highly divisive immigration enforcement content.
This is not the first occasion on which Grande has spoken out against the administration. In 2024, she reposted Instagram content criticizing ICE raids as well as what was described as transphobic rhetoric from the administration.
The singer also publicly backed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Grande is not the only artist to challenge the White House over the use of her music in promotional content.
A similar dispute involved Sabrina Carpenter in December 2025, when the White House account used her song ‘Juno’ in a post about ICE arrests and referenced her lyrics in the caption.
“Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye,” they wrote.
Carpenter warned the account to ‘never use her music to benefit your inhumane agenda,’ calling it ‘disgusting and evil’.
The latest row comes as Grande has just returned to touring for the first time since 2019. Her Eternal Sunshine tour opened at Oakland Arena in Oakland, California, on 6 June 2026, with additional opening-week shows at the same venue.
During that break from live performances, she expanded her screen career and appeared alongside Cynthia Erivo in Wicked and its follow-up, Wicked: For Good.
Speaking on opening night in Oakland, Grande told the crowd how much she had missed being back on stage.
“I missed you,” she told the roaring crowd. “It’s great to see you.”
“This is very overwhelming, so thank you so much for all of your love,” she said as the crowd cheered.