British pop sensation Ariana Grande has expressed strong disapproval after her song 'Bye' was featured in a social media video promoting US immigration enforcement operations. The TikTok post, released by the White House, showcased agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducting arrests and handcuffing individuals. Grande responded to the video, which was captioned 'Bye-bye. President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history,' with a scathing comment.
On Thursday, Grande took to the comment section of the post to state, 'Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. F*** ICE.' While her comment was reportedly no longer publicly visible on the post by Friday morning, representatives for the artist confirmed to Variety that she had indeed made the statement. Sources close to Grande also indicated that her team was actively exploring options to have her song removed from the video. The audio track in question has since been removed or muted, with the video now displaying a message that the sound is unavailable.
A White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, issued a statement in response, appearing to reference Grande's lyrics: 'We’ll say this one last time: what’s actually barbaric, inhumane, and heinous are the criminal illegal aliens who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens.' This exchange highlights the ongoing tension between the Trump administration's immigration policies and public figures, particularly those within the entertainment industry.
The current US administration, since returning to office in January 2025, has significantly expanded ICE enforcement operations across major US cities. These policies aim to accelerate deportations and increase detentions at the border, leading to widespread protests. Anti-ICE demonstrations have erupted in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco, where critics accuse the administration of criminalising migrants and employing militarised enforcement tactics.
This is not the first instance where Grande has voiced her opposition to the Trump administration's approach to immigration. Last year, she posted on Instagram, questioning Trump voters on whether their lives had improved after migrants had been 'violently torn from their families and communities.' Furthermore, several other musicians, including Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, and SZA, have publicly condemned the use of their music in similar US immigration-related social media posts, describing the practice as 'racist, hateful propaganda' and 'evil and disgusting'.