A public row has erupted between Sabrina Carpenter and the White House after the singer criticised officials for using her music in a social media video highlighting recent arrests made by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The video, released, features a montage of suspects being detained by ICE agents, edited to Carpenter’s song Juno. The 26-year-old pop star swiftly condemned the post, calling it “evil and disgusting” and demanding that her music not be used “to benefit an inhumane agenda.”
The White House responded on Tuesday with a sharply worded statement from spokesperson Abigail Jackson, who quoted lyrics from Carpenter’s own songs while defending the administration’s stance on immigration enforcement.
“Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal individuals from our country,” Jackson said. She then referenced lyrics from Carpenter’s track Manchild, adding: “Anyone who would defend these criminals must be stupid — or slow.”
Carpenter has not yet issued a follow-up statement, but her initial post drew wide attention online, with supporters applauding her for speaking out and others criticising her stance.
Supporters of the Trump administration argued that the singer’s reaction was misplaced, praising the video for underscoring the government’s enforcement efforts. One social media user wrote: “I’m a hard-working Latino who came here legally. I pay my taxes, follow the law, and I voted for this. Safety matters.”
Others said the video reflected the administration’s fondness for satire, especially following previous controversies involving Olivia Rodrigo’s music being used in similar immigration-themed posts.
However, critics accused officials of politicising pop culture and raised concerns about the tone of the messaging. Some users pointed to past controversies involving prominent figures associated with the administration, while others urged Carpenter to take legal action. One user wrote: “We are officially a Godless country.”
The clash comes as new ICE statistics show a significant rise in the number of immigrants without criminal records currently in agency custody — an increase of nearly 2,000 percent since President Trump began his second term in January. The last comparable surge was recorded in 2003, in the years following the 9/11 attacks.
This latest controversy follows similar incidents earlier this month involving Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift, whose material was also repurposed by official government social media accounts. Rodrigo publicly objected to her music being used, calling the messaging “racist” and “hateful.”