US singer Ariana Grande has again voiced anger over the use of her songs in political promotion. This time, her popular 2024 song “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” was used in a social media post run by supporters of President Donald Trump. Grande did not take the matter well.
A video was posted to “Team Trump’s” TikTok account on Thursday. The video shows Trump walking toward a stage. The video’s caption read: “This shouldn’t be controversial!” It was accompanied by hashtags related to Trump, Ariana Grande and “MAGA.”
Seeing her song used in the post, Grande directly expressed her anger in the comments section. She wrote: “Never use my song again. And your truth is a lie.”
Second time in two months
This is not the first such dispute between Grande and the Trump administration. In just two months, her song has now been used in a political post for the second time, and each time she has protested.
In June, the White House used a version of another Grande song, “Bye,” in a TikTok video. That video showed several Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials making arrests and handcuffing people.
Grande reacted strongly that time as well. She wrote: “Never use my song with this barbaric, inhumane and vile act.” Her team then had the song’s audio removed from that post.
However, the song has not yet been removed from the post built around “We Can’t Be Friends.”
Artists’ tensions with the Trump administration
Grande is not alone. There have been multiple recent controversies over the Trump administration and White House’s use of artists’ songs in social media posts.
Songs by Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny have also been removed from Trump-related posts. Meanwhile, singer Noah Kahan objected in even more explicit terms in late July. After the White House used her song “American Cars” in an Instagram post, Kahan wrote that she would never give permission for her music to be used in support of Trump or his administration.
In such cases, the central question that arises is whether the artist had actually given permission for their song to be used to spread a political message. Grande’s recent comments have brought that debate back into focus.
Grande’s position has always been clear
Ariana Grande has previously spoken out on various social and political issues. This time too, without a lengthy statement, she made her position clear in just a few sentences — that her songs should not be associated with the Trump administration’s political messaging.
In particular, “We Can’t Be Friends” is a song primarily about relationships, breakups and the complexity of emotion. Using that song against the backdrop of a completely different political message has made Grande’s objection even clearer.
Entertainment outlet Variety contacted the White House for comment on the matter, but received no response.
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