Ariana Grande lashes out at Trump for using one of her songs in a political video: "Never use my music again"

Ariana Grande has once again publicly confronted the Donald Trump Administration after the official Team Trump account used one of her songs to accompany a political message. This time it was ‘We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)’, one of the singer’s biggest hits released in 2024, which appeared as the soundtrack to a video with a message against trans people.

The video, posted on Thursday on TikTok, shows Donald Trump walking toward a podium while phrases appear on screen that begin with a reference to Grande’s song and end with the message: " Men cannot have babies and should never compete in women’s sports." The post also added the message “This should not be controversial” alongside Trump and MAGA tags.

Grande responded directly in the post's comments with a forceful message: “ Never use my music again . Also, your truth is false.” The video now appears without sound, after the singer's team worked to get the song removed.

It’s not the first time Ariana Grande has protested against Trump

The clash between the singer and the Trump Administration goes back a few weeks. In June, the White House used ‘ Bye ’, another Grande song, in a TikTok video about U.S. immigration policy.

The post showed images of agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) detaining and handcuffing people and carried the message: “Bye-bye. President Trump has achieved the safest border in history.” Grande then responded by asking that her music no longer be used in connection with that kind of content .

Following that protest, the audio was removed from the video, although the post remained available. The White House then responded to Grande's criticism by defending its immigration policy.

A long list of musicians opposed to Trump

Ariana Grande is not the only artist who has publicly asked Trump and his team to stop using their songs. Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Katy Perry, Céline Dion, ABBA, the Rolling Stones, and Noah Kahan , among others, have also protested at different times over the use of their music being associated with Trump’s political messages or events.

The issue also has a legal dimension that is not always as straightforward as it seems. Political campaigns may have general licenses from organizations such as ASCAP or BMI to play certain songs at public events, but the use of a song within a video posted on social media raises different issues, especially when it involves synchronizing a recording with images and political messages .

That is why, when an artist publicly says they do not want a politician to use their music, it does not automatically mean that there is a copyright infringement in every case. It depends on what rights have been obtained, who owns the work, and how the recording has been used.

In Ariana Grande's case, however, the practical outcome of this latest episode has already occurred: the Team Trump video has lost the song that accompanied it.