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Zara Larsson condemns the White House’s use of her song in an ICE promotion, sparking debate over music rights and political misuse.
Swedish singer Zara Larsson publicly condemned a White House social media reel that used her song “Midnight Sun” alongside footage appearing to show immigration enforcement actions, saying the clip was dehumanising and that the music has since been removed from the post.
The reel, captioned “never ending deportations,” spliced together video of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and other law enforcement personnel handcuffing men and placing them into vehicles. Larsson reposted a portion of the original clip and responded with a three-minute reaction video that has gained millions of views on TikTok.
In her response, Larsson described those shown in the footage as “real people” and said most undocumented individuals are ordinary workers seeking a better future. She criticised the White House for using her lyrics—originally evoking a connection between people and nature—as a means of what she called division and memefication of serious situations.
The White House reel used Larsson’s song to accompany images of immigration enforcement. Larsson objected to the combination, called the depiction dehumanising, and the song was removed from the post. The BBC contacted the White House for comment.