On Tuesday, American songwriter and singer Sabrina Carpenter gave a public statement on X condemning the usage of her hit song ‘Juno’ in a TikTok video published by the Trump administration that shows Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel detaining people.
Sabrina Carpenter published the following statement on X that has received over 130 million views: “this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”
In response to Carpenter’s statement, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson provided the following statement referencing lines in Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” album and “Manchild” Song: “Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country. Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?”
It is a surprise to see a White House spokesperson give such a hostile response to an American citizen, especially when they mock Carpenter using the line “stupid, or is it slow?” which she included in her song “Manchild”.
Carpenter is not the first musician to publicly condemn Trump and demand that he not use their music in his posts. Condemnations from musicians go back to 2016, when Trump started his first term in office. Beyoncé, ABBA, the Foo Fighters, and Kenny Loggins have also come out and demanded that the Trump administration stop using their music. Beyoncé went a step further and threatened to send a cease-and-desist order after they used her song “Freedom,” which was the campaign song of former Vice President Kamala Harris.
It is uncertain whether these requests will be respected by the current administration in the future.
