Ariana Grande has once again criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration for featuring her music in a social media post. This time, the Team Trump account used 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 the president approaching a podium to speak, with text partially quoting Grande’s 2024 track, stating, “Me and my truth we sit in silence… men can’t have babies and should never compete in women’s sports.” Grande responded in the comments section, demanding that her music not be used again and criticizing the administration’s “false truth.”
The sound has been removed from the post, and Grande’s comment appears to have been deleted, although audience members have reposted screenshots of it. This incident follows Grande’s previous objection in mid-June when her song “Bye” was used in a TikTok video related to immigration policy. She expressed her disapproval of associating her music with such “barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense.”
Grande joins a long list of artists, including Taylor Swift and ABBA, who have voiced 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 all protested against the unauthorized use of their songs. Some artists have taken legal action or issued cease and desist orders to prevent their music from being used in association with Trump or his campaigns.
Despite campaigns being able to obtain licenses to use music through music-rights organizations, individual artists can choose to opt out for personal reasons. Artists who have not opted out still have the right to object to the use of their music.