Zara Larsson criticises White House for using her song in deportation video

September 18, 2026

Swedish pop star Zara Larsson has publicly criticized the White House after her song "Midnight Sun" was featured in a social media video depicting immigration enforcement operations. The video, captioned "never ending deportations" as a play on her lyrics, showed ICE agents arresting and detaining people, which Larsson called dehumanizing treatment of real individuals seeking better lives. Although the audio was subsequently removed, the video remains on the White House's TikTok account.

Who is affected

Zara Larsson (Swedish pop star)
Undocumented immigrants shown being detained in the video
Other artists whose music has been used without permission (Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo)
The White House/Trump administration
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other US law enforcement personnel

What action is being taken

The White House is conducting immigration enforcement raids and deportations
Artists are publicly condemning the White House's use of their music
The White House is removing songs from their social media posts following artist interventions

Why it matters

This situation highlights the tension between artists' control over their creative work and how government entities use that work for political messaging. It demonstrates how immigration enforcement is being portrayed on social media platforms in ways that artists view as dehumanizing, transforming serious human rights issues into what Larsson calls "memefied" content. The pattern of multiple high-profile artists objecting reveals broader concerns about unauthorized use of music to promote controversial policies.

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC