The White House was forced into quietly deleting a tweet after Sabrina Carpenter called them out for using her song in a “disgusting” and “evil” manner.
On Dec. 1, the White House tweeted a video captioned with two of Carpenter’s popular lyrics, “Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye.” The video in question was a montage of people of color being chased and sometimes roughly arrested, set to Carpenter’s hit song “Juno.”
After seeing their post, Carpenter savagely condemned the Trump administration.
“This video is evil and disgusting,” the two-time Grammy winner wrote on X. ”Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda."
Fans immediately praised Carpenter for her response, with one writing, “EXACTLY SABRINA SPEAK ON IT” in all caps.
Another wrote, “It’s literally impossible to not follow you after this.”
Others wanted legal action, with one penning, “Hit them with that Copyright Strike Queen!!!!!!!”
Representatives for Carpenter did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment regarding whether the singer pursued any legal action.
On Dec. 5, the White House quietly deleted the tweet, but did not provide an explanation.
Since the post is deleted, the exact engagement is unclear, but Carpenter’s response received 1.7 million likes, while the White House’s most popular tweet from the same day as the incident received only 249,000 likes.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment as to why they deleted the post.
However, hours after deleting the tweet, the White House doubled down on its feud with Carpenter, tweeting an edited version of the video that began with a clip of Sabrina Carpenter and Marcello Hernández promoting an episode of Saturday Night Live.
In the real clip, Carpenter tells Hernández, “I think I might need to arrest someone for being too hot.” Hernández, who was born in Miami, but often references his Cuban-Dominican heritage, responded by saying, “Well, I turn myself in.” Carpenter then said, “You’re under arrest!”
In the White House’s version, it replaces Carpenter’s voice saying “hot” with a dubbed-over voice saying “illegal.” It then proceeds to turn into a montage of people of color getting arrested, with a few bizarre clips of white men or officers riding horses and ATVs.
“PSA: If you’re a criminal illegal, you WILL be arrested & deported,” the White House captioned the tweet, ending the post with a sparkle emoji.
Users are already waiting to see how Carpenter and her fans respond, with one writing, “Remember when she ratioed you guys so hard you deleted the post?” attaching a screenshot of Carpenter’s response and the notification that the White House had deleted their post.
Another agreed, asking the White House, “Oh so you losers want to get ratioed again?”
Others used the post as an opportunity to attack Trump with one user posting a picture of the president and first lady, with the words “A Felon Married to an immigrant Telling us the problem is IMMIGRANTS and FELONS?”
Both of their tweets at Carpenter reference a viral part in her “Short n’ Sweet” tour that showcased her “arresting” fans or famous celebrities with fluffy handcuffs each night. Hernández was one of her famous arrests at the Los Angeles show of her tour, where he stayed in character as his notable SNL character Domingo.
