Ariana Grande Calls Out White House for 'Barbaric' Music Theft
Pop stars are staging a coordinated revolt. Ariana Grande joined Sabrina Carpenter and SZA in demanding the Trump administration stop using their music without permission.
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Ariana Grande is done playing nice. The pop superstar took aim at the White House this week after discovering her song "Bye" was used in a Trump administration video—and her language was scorching. Grande called the usage "barbaric" and "inhumane," according to The Guardian, while the BBC reports she branded it "heinous nonsense." Either way, the message was crystal clear: keep my music out of your politics, or face the consequences.
Grande isn't fighting alone. The Guardian notes this is part of a pattern, with multiple major artists including Sabrina Carpenter and SZA already lighting into the administration over unauthorized music use. It's a rare moment of unified celebrity pushback, and it speaks to how deeply musicians object to their work being weaponized for political purposes. The White House apparently didn't get the memo that the 2000s called and wanted their copyright infringement back.
Meanwhile, late-night host Jimmy Fallon was taking his own swings. The NY Times reports Fallon roasted the president at length, calling him "the only 80-year-old yelling, 'Get on my lawn!'"—a bit that landed while all this music drama was unfolding. It's a reminder that when celebrities unite against a political target, the comedians rarely miss their moment.