White House responds after Kesha calls out ‘disgusting and inhumane’ use of her song Blow in strike video

The White House’s director of communications has responded after Kesha called out the institution for using her song ‘Blow’ to ‘incite violence and threaten war.’

On February 10, the White House posted a TikTok video montage showing US warplanes appearing to strike naval targets, soundtracked by the singer’s 2010 dance track. The clip was captioned “Lethality” and included fire and eagle emojis.

Kesha addressed the post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday (March 2), saying she was alarmed by how the music was being used.

“It’s come to my attention that The White House has used one of my songs on TikTok to incite violence and threaten war,” she wrote.

“Trying to make light of war is disgusting and inhumane. I absolutely do NOT approve of my music being used to promote violence of any kind.

“Love always trumps hate. please love yourself and each other in times like this,” she continued.

“This show of blatant disregard for human life and quite frankly this attack on all of our nervous systems is the opposite of what I stand for.”

She then added: “Also, don’t let this distract us from the fact that criminal predator Donald Trump appears in the Files over a million times.”

Kesha appeared to be referencing the Epstein files. While the President is mentioned multiple times in the documents, he has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and being named in the files does not itself indicate wrongdoing.

White House director of communications Steven Cheung responded to Kesha on the same platform, dismissing the criticism and arguing it only boosts the administration’s reach.

“All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this.

“This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re b*****g about.

“Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Kesha is not the only artist to object to the White House using their music in politically charged videos.

Sabrina Carpenter, whose song ‘Juno’ became a viral hit, previously criticized the White House after a clip showing ICE detaining people in Chicago used the track—specifically the lyric “have you ever tried this one?”

“This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” the singer said back in December.

Jess Glynne, best known for ‘Hold My Hand’ (widely associated online with “nothing beats a Jet2 Holiday”), also spoke out after the White House used audio over footage of passengers being boarded onto a deportation flight.

ABBA, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Elton John, the Foo Fighters, Olivia Rodrigo and others have similarly pushed back in the past after their music was used without permission in campaign settings, rallies, or political videos tied to Trump and the White House.