The singer says she was never asked before her song was used to soundtrack footage of military action in Iran.
Katy Perry has a problem with where her music ended up. In the middle of a run of festival dates in France, the singer went public with her anger after the White House posted a TikTok that used “Firework” over footage of military strikes, something she says she never agreed to.
“I did not give my consent”
The video went up on Wednesday, July 22, spotlighting recent US strikes against Iran with Perry’s song running underneath it. She responded on Saturday, July 25, making clear she wants no part of it.
“I am deeply dismayed and angry to see ‘Firework’ used on the White House TikTok account as the soundtrack to a video showing military strikes,” she wrote, adding: “I did not give my consent, I was not consulted, and I absolutely do not condone this.”
A song written for something else entirely
Perry then spelled out what the track was supposed to be about. “I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments,” she said.
Set against footage of bombardment, she argued, that meaning gets turned inside out: “Seeing a message of self-esteem and spiritual upliftment used as a weapon to accompany destruction and violence is a total violation of everything my song stands for.” Her closing line left little room for interpretation. “My music is meant to bring people together, not to celebrate war.”
The White House TikTok account has drawn this kind of pushback before. Other videos showing military strikes have been posted with commercial music playing over them.
