Ariana Grande has once again criticized the Trump administration for using her music in a social media post. This time, the Team Trump account featured her song “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” in a TikTok post that tagged the Grammy-winning artist. The post included clips of President Trump speaking at a podium with text partially quoting Grande’s 2024 hit track.
In response, Grande commented on the post, demanding that her music not be used again and calling out the administration’s statements as false. The sound on the post was subsequently removed, and Grande’s comment was apparently deleted, although screenshots of it have circulated online.
This incident follows Grande’s previous objection in mid-June when her song “Bye” was used in a TikTok video about immigration policy. The pop star expressed her disapproval of associating her music with what she called “barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense.”
Grande’s stance adds to a growing list of artists, including Taylor Swift and ABBA, who have objected to the Trump campaign using their music. Over the years, various musicians have voiced their opposition to the unauthorized use of their songs by Trump’s team at rallies and in social media content.
Some artists have taken legal action or issued cease and desist orders to prevent their music from being used by the administration. Swift and Bad Bunny, for example, have swiftly taken steps to have their music removed from Team Trump’s social videos, citing copyright infringement claims.
While political campaigns can obtain licensing packages to play music legally, individual artists have the right to opt out of having their music included for specific reasons. Artists who have not opted out can still voice their objections to the use of their music.