Kesha rips White House for using song ‘to incite violence and threaten war’
Pop singer Kesha slammed the White House on Monday for including one of her popular songs in a recent social media video of what appeared to be fighter jets conducting military strikes, becoming the latest artist to criticize the Trump administration for using their music without permission.
The 31-second clip features images of military planes flying through the sky and a missile hitting a naval ship as the lyrics to Kesha’s 2010 hit “Blow” blare in the background. The video has amassed more than 17 million views and 2.1 million likes since it was posted on Feb. 10.
“It’s come to my attention that The White House has used one of my songs on TikTok to incite violence and threaten war,” Kesha wrote weeks later on Instagram . “Trying to make light of war is disgusting and inhumane.”
“I absolutely do NOT approve of my music being used to promote violence of any kind. Love always trumps hate. please love yourself and each other in times like this. This show of blatant disregard for human life and quite frankly this attack on all of our nervous systems is the opposite of what I stand for,” she added.
The 39-year-old singer concluded her post by referencing the files released by the Justice Department in connection with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Also, don’t let this distract us from the fact that criminal predator Donald Trump appears in the Files over a million times,” Kesha wrote. Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes.
Kesha joins a growing number of artists who have publicly objected to the White House’s use of their material to promote the administration’s agenda.
“This video is evil and disgusting,” Sabrina Carpenter responded in December after the White House posted a video depicting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests set to her 2024 song “Juno.”
Several artists have gone as far as to take or threaten legal action against Trump for the unauthorized use of their music at campaign rallies and on social media.
Last month, the family and estate of soul singer Isaac Hayes said it settled a copyright lawsuit with the president and his 2024 campaign over the song “Hold On, I’m Comin.”
The criticism has not appeared to faze Trump administration officials, however. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung suggested Monday that the blowback has the opposite intended effect.
“All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this,” Cheung wrote on the social platform X in response to Kesha’s comments. “This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re b——- about.”
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