Katy Perry has gone off on the White House for using her song in a social media video showing military strikes.
The White House’s official TikTok account posted the video on Thursday, pairing footage of bombs exploding with lyrics from Perry’s 2010 anthem “Firework,” including the line “boom, boom, boom.” The clip was captioned: “Iran has been warned.”
Perry addressed the post in a statement shared to X on Saturday, saying she was “deeply appalled and angry” by the use of her music.
“I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it,” the singer wrote.
She explained that “Firework,” one of the biggest hits from her Grammy-nominated Teenage Dream album, was written as “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,” Perry continued. “My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare.”
The criticism comes as Perry has remained in the spotlight beyond her music. The singer, who ended her longtime relationship with Orlando Bloom last year, has since gone public with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The pair made their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2026 Tribeca Festival in June, where Perry described Trudeau as the “love of my life.”
Perry is the latest artist to criticize the Trump administration over its use of music in political content. Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Celine Dion and Kenny Loggins are among those to publicly object after their songs were used in campaign or government-related videos without their approval.
