Zara Larsson Rips Trump’s White House Over ICE Video Set to Her Song “Midnight Sun”

Musicians clashing with political campaigns over unauthorized use of their songs has become an increasingly familiar storyline in recent years, with artists across genres pushing back when their music gets attached to messaging they don’t endorse. That tension has flared up again this week, this time involving one of pop’s most recognizable international voices.

Zara Larsson, the Swedish singer behind hits like “Lush Life” and “Symphony,” found herself at the center of exactly that kind of dispute after discovering her song “Midnight Sun” had been used in an official White House TikTok video. The clip, tied to U.S. immigration enforcement, quickly drew a sharp, emotional response from the artist herself.

The 19-second video, posted to the White House’s official TikTok account, was captioned “never ending deportations,” a direct play on the song’s own lyric “never ending midnight sun.” It showed roughly a dozen men being restrained in handcuffs and leg restraints by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, footage that Larsson quickly addressed head-on in her own three-minute video response.

@zaralarsson #stitch with @The White House ♬ original sound – Zara Larsson

Rather than a brief statement, Larsson delivered a lengthy, visibly emotional reaction, making an “L” sign with her hand as she spoke. “I’m just sad. My heart is heavy seeing that, because I wish I could speak to whoever made that video,” Larsson said. “I wish I could talk to you, and I wish I could help you remember that you and I, we aren’t that different. And we’re not that different from the people in the video, either… This video is so dehumanizing. These people in the video are real people,” she said, in comments shared with Variety.

She continued by pointing to specific details in the footage, noting that one man shown in the video was dressed in construction wear, using that example to argue that many undocumented immigrants are simply working people trying to build better lives. Larsson also directly criticized the choice of her song for the video, explaining that “Midnight Sun” was written about feeling connected to nature, the universe, and other people, calling the pairing “fcking uncool” and concluding, “You guys are such fcking losers.”

This isn’t the first time the White House has featured Larsson’s work in political content. Earlier this year, the administration used another of her songs, posting footage of President Trump dancing to “Lush Life” alongside on-screen text supporting the administration, including phrases like “WE LOVE ICE and our law enforcement!” Larsson responded to that earlier incident with an Instagram story bluntly listing her political values, including support for immigrants, trans people, and reproductive rights, while stating direct opposition to ICE.

Larsson isn’t alone in pushing back against this kind of usage either. She joins Ariana Grande, who has previously criticized the administration after her own songs “Bye” and “We Can’t Be Friends” appeared in White House TikTok videos tied to immigration enforcement and other political messaging, suggesting a broader pattern of artists objecting to their music being repurposed this way without permission or endorsement.

The dispute highlights an ongoing friction point between musicians and official government social media accounts, particularly around how copyrighted music gets used in politically charged content. For artists like Larsson, the objection isn’t necessarily rooted in party politics alone, but in how their work gets recontextualized in ways that clash directly with the meaning they originally intended.

Whether this latest controversy leads to any formal response from the White House or changes in how official accounts source music for future posts remains to be seen. For now, Larsson has made her feelings unmistakably clear, adding her voice to a growing list of artists unwilling to stay quiet when their music ends up attached to messaging they don’t support.

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