The song is misused, Katy Perry: My music is not to celebrate war

JAKARTA - Katy Perry launched a harsh criticism of the White House after her hit song, "Firework", which was released in 2010, was used without permission as background music for a video uploaded to the official TikTok account of President Donald Trump's administration.

The TikTok upload published by the White House account last Thursday featured footage of a military bomb explosion synchronized with the lyrics of the song "boom, boom, boom".

The military propaganda video pinned a caption to the post that read "Iran has been warned".

Perry also expressed his anger publicly through his X social media account. He emphasized that the White House had never asked for permission or received approval to use his work.

"I am very shocked and angry to see 'Firework' used on the TikTok account @WhiteHouse as background music for the video recording of the military attack," Perry wrote.

"I don't agree with it, I was never asked for permission, and I absolutely don't approve of it," he continued.

The 41-year-old musician explained that the song was created with a deep moral message to provide motivation for life, not as an accompaniment to the destruction of war.

"I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest times," he continued. "Seeing the message of self-worth and resurrection being misused to soundtrack destruction and violence is an absolute violation of all the values my song stands for. My music was created to unite people, not celebrate war."

Katy Perry's case adds to the long list of top musicians in the world who have protested the use of their musical works without permission by the Trump camp for political and military campaigns.

Previously, Ariana Grande also criticized the White House for using a version of the song "Bye" (2024) in a video of an immigration arrest operation by ICE agents.

Other musicians such as Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Celine Dion, Neil Young, and The Rolling Stones have recorded similar objections regarding the use of their works in political agendas that they do not support.