The White House responded Wednesday after R&B star SZA criticized the administration for what she called “rage‑baiting” — the practice of pairing official posts with popular music to provoke reactions from the artists themselves.

In an interview with Variety, SZA denounced the Trump administration’s tactic as both malicious and manipulative. Within hours, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson issued a statement that read, in part, “Thank you, SZA,” and went on to praise ICE officers for “arresting dangerous criminal illegal aliens” — language that critics say amounts to a sarcastic endorsement of the publicity strategy.

The exchange began after officials posted a video condemning “criminal illegal aliens” that used a lyric from SZA’s “Big Boy” — “It’s cuffing season” — as its soundtrack. Rather than addressing the clip directly, SZA took to X and wrote that the White House’s tactic of using artists’ work for what she described as “free promo” was “PEAK DARK,” and criticized the administration’s “inhumanity” and reliance on shock‑and‑awe techniques.

Observers note the pattern appears intentional: by attaching buzzworthy tracks by outspokenly liberal musicians to politically charged content, the administration frequently prompts public pushback from those artists — which, in turn, amplifies the original posts. Recent examples include Olivia Rodrigo publicly rejecting the use of her song “All‑American Bitch” in a reel praising ICE, and Sabrina Carpenter condemning the pairing of her track “Juno” with similar messaging.

Beyond social posts about immigration enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security recently set footage of controversial strikes on alleged drug‑smuggling vessels to LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out,” a deployment that has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers, human‑rights groups and other critics concerned about the legality and optics of those operations.

Artists who find their work repurposed in government messaging have increasingly spoken out, arguing that such uses misrepresent their intent and force them into political disputes they did not choose. For now, the public back‑and‑forth between musicians and the administration shows no signs of abating — and each rebuttal only seems to deepen the cycle of attention.

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