Ariana Grande Criticizes White House Use of Her Song in ICE Border Security Video

Ariana Grande denounced the White House’s use of her 2024 song “Bye” in a TikTok-style video promoting border enforcement, saying the pairing is “barbaric, inhumane, heinous” and “nonsense.” The remarks were included in a post responding to what Deadline described as an ICE and Border Patrol funding message tied to a Trump-signed measure called the Secure America Act.

Deadline reported that Grande’s criticism centered on a video promoting the Secure America Act, which the report describes as legislation intended to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. In her response, Grande asked that her music not be used in that context.

The singer’s statement also referenced a broader cultural and media landscape in which political figures sometimes share short-form content with licensed or recognized tracks. Deadline characterized the dispute as adding Grande to what it described as a growing set of artists who have objected to political use of their work and, in its framing, will not collaborate with Trump in connection with TikTok-oriented promotional efforts.

In her comment, Grande used strong language to condemn the administration’s framing, including the line that the use of her song is “barbaric, inhumane, heinous” and “nonsense.” The report said she directed the message at the White House, including an explicit request not to use her work in videos related to ICE and border enforcement.

As of publication of the Deadline report, the video in question and any further official response were not described in detail beyond the administration’s stated purpose to promote the Secure America Act. No court filings or licensing disputes were mentioned in the Deadline account.

The dispute arrives amid ongoing public and political attention around federal immigration enforcement and the role of ICE and Border Patrol in the United States. For artists and rights holders, the incident underscores how quickly music can become part of government and campaign communications, even when the underlying content is a short-form clip.

In terms of what happens next, the immediate development highlighted in the report is Grande’s request that the White House stop using her song. The report did not provide details on whether the administration would amend the content, remove the video, or formally address the request.

Grande, a multi–Grammy-winning artist, has released “Bye” as part of her 2024 catalog, and the Deadline report tied the controversy to that specific track being used in the government-promoted video. The musician’s message, as described by Deadline, is focused on removing her work from enforcement-linked messaging rather than engaging with the policy itself.