Singer Katy Perry criticized the White House after using one of her songs, "Firework", in a video about the war in Iran. Artist said she was “shocked” with what happened.
© Getty Images
26/07/2026
by
Katy Perry was not indifferent to the use of his music by the White House and made a point of reacting publicly.
The singer was “shocked” and criticized the fact that the White House used its music “Firework” in a video with images of military attacks on the war in Iran.
The video was posted in the official White House account at TikTok on Thursday, July 23, with images of missiles exploding while the letter “boom, boom, boom” is reproduced. “Iran was warned,” they wrote in the video caption.
@whitehouse Iran has been warned.
This Saturday, July 25, the artist, 41 years old, made a publication on X (old Twitter) to express herself about the use of her music, which was released in 2010.
“ I am deeply shocked and outraged to see "Firework" being used in the White House TikTok account as a soundtrack for videos of military attacks. I did not authorize this, I was not consulted and I do not agree at all with this ", wrote the singer.
“ I wrote this song to be a hymn of hope, healing and inner strength for people who are going through their darkest personal moments. Seeing a message of self-esteem being used as a weapon for the soundtrack of destruction and violence is a complete violation of everything my music represents. My music is to unite people, not to celebrate the war ", made a point of highlighting.
I am deeply applied and Angry to see “Firework” used on the @WhiteHouse TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes. I didn't approve this, I wasn't asked, and I absolutely didn't.
I write this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and..
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 25, 2026
Katy Perry is not the first artist to manifest herself after the misuse of one of her songs. The singer now joins names like Céline Dion, Bruce Springsteen, Linkin Park, Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter and Radiohead, who previously also asked Donald Trump's government not to use their themes on social networks or other platforms.
White House shares video of Operation Epic Fury... to the sound of “Macarena”
Just last March, to remember, the White House shared a video of the “Operation Epic Fury”, named after the joint military offensive with Israel against Iran. Such images appeared with the music “Macarena” background.
In this video they gathered some of the moments that marked the previous attacks, as well as the weapons used by the United States.