Zara Larsson lashes White House for using her song in deportation video
The White House removed Larsson's Midnight Sun from one of its reels after the artist called the clip "dehumanising".
Zara Larsson criticises White House over use of her song in deportation video
Larsson says the White House used her track to spread "dehumanising" messages
Swedish pop star Zara Larsson has denounced the White House for featuring one of her best-known songs in a social media reel.
The clip used Larsson's Midnight Sun in a video that appears to depict immigration enforcement raids. The song has since been taken down from the post, although the video remains on the White House's TikTok feed.
The video carries the caption "never ending deportations", echoing Larsson's lyric "never-ending midnight sun".
In a three-minute response video posted on social media, Larsson called the clip "dehumanising", joining a growing group of singers, including Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande, who have told the Trump administration not to use their music.
The reel combines several videos of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, along with other US law enforcement officers, handcuffing men and placing them in vehicles.
Larsson reposted a section of the original clip, which then cuts to a selfie video of her making an 'L' shape with her fingers against her forehead.
In the reaction video, which has already gained more than 4.2 million views on TikTok, she tells her followers that the White House video is "so dehumanising".
Larsson goes on: "These people in this video – they're real people."
"The vast majority of these people who are undocumented are regular people with jobs and they're just trying to have a better future".
"It's so crazy how everything is so memefied and so 'ha-ha-ha'," she says, accusing the White House of using her song to create "division", even though the lyrics, according to Larsson, reflect a connection between people and nature.
Earlier this year, Larsson criticised a video of President Donald Trump dancing at different events set to her hit Lush Life.
White House social media accounts have been compelled to remove a range of songs from their feed after interventions from artists.
Taylor Swift's seasonal track August was removed from a reel posted by the Trump administration in August, while one of Olivia Rodrigo's songs disappeared from a video after the singer condemned its use as "hateful propaganda".
Ariana Grande have also separately warned the Trump administration not to use their music in social media content after the White House posted videos featuring their songs.