Katy Perry sang “Firework” at Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021, with fireworks lighting up the sky behind the Washington Monument as she reached the chorus. Five years later, the same song resurfaced in a very different setting, this time paired with footage of real explosions.
The White House’s TikTok account posted the video on Thursday, syncing the song’s “boom, boom, boom” hook with clips of bombs detonating under the caption, “Iran has been warned.”
@whitehouseIran has been warned. 🎆♬ original sound – The White House
Perry said she wasn’t told about the video beforehand and only found it after seeing it online.
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“I am deeply appalled and angry to see ‘Firework’ used on the @WhiteHouse TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes,” she wrote on X Saturday. “I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.”
She continued: “I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments. 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. My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare.”
I am deeply appalled and angry to see “Firework” used on the @WhiteHouse TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes. I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.
I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and…
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 25, 2026
The post also came at a sensitive moment.
Trump has spent the past week insisting the United States is “locked and loaded” but “not in a hurry,” while also claiming Iran has become more willing to negotiate. At the same time, U.S. Central Command has continued striking Iranian missile, maritime and nuclear-related targets. Whatever message the administration wanted to send diplomatically, its TikTok team apparently decided a fifteen-year-old anthem about self-worth was the soundtrack for military action.
Perry isn’t the first artist to find her work used by Trump’s political operation without being asked, and the list of people who’ve gone through this before her is long. Beyoncé sent a cease-and-desist over “Freedom” after having specifically cleared the same song for Kamala Harris’ campaign.
Celine Dion’s team objected when “My Heart Will Go On” turned up at a rally. ABBA’s label demanded rally footage using “Dancing Queen” and “The Winner Takes It All” be taken down entirely, saying no license had ever been granted. Steven Tyler has sent Trump’s team cease-and-desist letters on two separate occasions over Aerosmith songs.
The White House TikTok account has been criticized for more than just this video.
Earlier this week, it shared a video built around dignified transfer footage of four fallen service members with the caption, “Rest easy heroes,” naming 1st Lt. Tyler Feehan, Sgt. Michael Swinton, Sgt. Angel Rampersad and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales. That post also got people talking about whether the families had given permission for the ceremony to appear on social media.
@whitehouseRest easy heroes. 🇺🇸 1st Lt. Tyler Feehan 🇺🇸 Sgt. Michael Swinton 🇺🇸 Sgt. Angel Rampersad 🇺🇸 Pvt. Isabella Gonzales♬ Amazing Grace – Grace McGuigan
Featured image via YouTube screengrab
