Olivia Rodrigo Condemns White House, DHS for Using Her Song in Immigration Video
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Sound familiar? Once more, an artist has objected to the Trump administration’s use of their music without authorization. Olivia Rodrigo publicly criticized the White House and Department of Homeland Security after a joint video post used one of her tracks as its soundtrack.
The video, shared as a joint Instagram Reel on Tuesday, is set to “All‑American Bitch,” the opener from Rodrigo’s Billboard 200–topping sophomore album, Guts. It shows Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers forcibly restraining, detaining and moving people off the street.
The clip then switches to footage that appears to show migrants boarding flights arranged by DHS — smiling and giving thumbs up — with a caption urging viewers to “LEAVE NOW and self‑deport using the CBP Home app,” and warning that those who fail to comply will “face the consequences.”
“LEAVE NOW and self‑deport using the CBP Home app … If you don’t, you will face the consequences.”
Rodrigo responded in the comments, writing, “don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda.”
Billboard has contacted both the White House and ICE for comment.
It’s unclear why the government would pair the imagery with a song by the three‑time Grammy winner. Rodrigo has been outspoken about her political views — she publicly backed Kamala Harris in the 2024 election — and she has criticized the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement this year.
On Instagram in June, Rodrigo wrote that living in Los Angeles and witnessing “violent deportations” of her neighbors left her “deeply upset,” adding that Los Angeles “simply wouldn’t exist without immigrants” and calling the raids a show of “little respect, empathy, and due process.” She affirmed her solidarity with immigrant communities and with the rights to free speech and protest.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has been accused of using music without permission. Recently, Kenny Loggins objected to his song “Danger Zone” being paired with an AI‑generated video of the president, and supporters of Taylor Swift criticized an official TikTok that used “The Fate of Ophelia.” Swift herself has not publicly commented on that particular clip, though she has had a long record of disputes with the former president.
