The White House fired back at pop star Sabrina Carpenter on Tuesday, using her own lyrics to mock her criticism of the Trump administration for featuring her music in an ICE promotional video.
“Here is a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter. We will not apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists and pedophiles from our country,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to The New York Post, referencing the singer’s album title Short n’ Sweet.
“Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?” Jackson added, echoing a line from Carpenter’s hit song Manchild.
Carpenter, 26, blasted the administration after spotting her hit track Juno set to a montage of Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest footage. She called the video “evil and disgusting” in a post on X. “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” the Grammy-nominated musician wrote.
The White House had captioned the clip “Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye,” a direct play on the lyrics of Juno. The promotional video featured slow-motion shots of ICE officers handcuffing individuals, tackling people to the ground and carrying out what appeared to be raid operations.
Fans quickly rallied behind Carpenter. Some encouraged her to pursue legal action, while others praised her for standing up to the administration. “Proud to support an artist who uses her platform to defend vulnerable and demonized communities,” one supporter wrote.
“You gained so many points for this,” another added.
Carpenter is not the first pop artist to clash with the Trump administration over unauthorized use of music. Last month, Olivia Rodrigo condemned the Department of Homeland Security for featuring one of her songs in a video encouraging undocumented immigrants to self-deport. “Do not ever use my songs to promote your racist and hateful propaganda,” Rodrigo said in a reply she later deleted.
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