Ariana Grande has once again criticized President Donald Trump’s administration for featuring her music in a social media post. This time, the Team Trump account shared a TikTok video incorporating Grande’s song “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” and tagging the singer.
The post displayed clips of the president approaching a podium to speak, with text quoting part of Grande’s 2024 hit track. Grande responded in the comments, stating, “Never use my music again. Also your truth is false.”
Following Grande’s comment, the sound was removed from the post, and her response was apparently deleted, although screenshots of it were reposted by viewers. This incident follows Grande’s previous objection in mid-June when her song “Bye” was used in a TikTok video related to immigration policy, prompting her to express her disapproval of the administration’s actions.
Grande joins a long list of artists, including Taylor Swift and ABBA, who have raised objections to the Trump team using their music. Various musicians, such as Neil Young, John Fogerty, Queen, the Rolling Stones, ABBA, Beyoncé, and the estates of Leonard Cohen, Prince, and Tom Petty, have voiced their opposition to the unauthorized use of their music by the Trump campaign.
While campaigns can obtain licenses from music-rights organizations to use songs legally, individual artists have the right to opt out for personal reasons. Some artists, like Swift and Bad Bunny, have taken swift action to have their music removed from Team Trump’s social videos through copyright infringement claims.