Katy Perry condemns White House for Firework use on TikTok

Pop star Katy Perry has publicly condemned the White House for using her hit song "Firework" without permission in a social media video featuring footage of U.S. military strikes. Perry voiced her anger in a social media post on Saturday, July 25, 2026, stating she was not consulted and does not condone the pairing of her music with images of warfare.

The video was posted on the official White House TikTok account earlier in the week, synchronizing the song's "boom, boom, boom" lyrics with black-and-white footage of explosions. The post was captioned "Iran has been warned." In her statement, Perry wrote that she was "deeply appalled and angry" to see her song used as a backing track for military strike footage. She emphasized that "Firework," released in 2010, was written as an anthem of hope and personal strength. "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 stated. "My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare."

This incident is part of a recurring pattern of musicians criticizing the Trump administration for the unauthorized use of their...