'Appalled' Katy Perry Blasts White House After They Use 'Firework' In Video Of Military Strikes

Singer-songwriter Katy Perry's 2010 hit song "Firework"—written by Perry, Ester Dean, Sandy Wilhelm, and production duo Stargate—is billed as an anthem of self-empowerment and recognition of inner worth. The lyrics encouraged people feeling lost, weak, or unloved to realize they had a unique spark and power to shine like a firework.

Perry said the song was her favorite from her "Teenage Dream" album. With lyrics like "Cause baby, you're a firework, Come on, show 'em what you're worth" the song's "fantastic message" would become "an anthem that's not cheesy."

The administration of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump decided to use it to glorify bombing and killing people in his Iran War. In a video posted by the official White House account Thursday on TikTok, "Firework" was chosen to accompany footage of military strikes against targets chosen by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump.

You can see news coverage featuring the eight-second White House video here:

Perry took to X, tagging the White House account, to share her reaction, writing:

"I am deeply appalled and angry to see 'Firework' used on the [White House] 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 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."

@katyperry/X

While Trump's MAGA minions back everything he does, the majority of responses supported artists not wanting their work co-opted to prop up Trump's war.

reply to @whitehouse/TikTok

@thegreatgig8/X

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@Glitter_Spite/X

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Perry joins a long list of artists to call out Trump for the use of their music on social media and in his MAGA rallies. In June, Ariana Grande chastised the Trump administration for using her 2024 song "Bye" in a TikTok post featuring ICE agents abducting people.