Song removed from post but immigration-enforcement video remains on feed
The White House social-media reel, which uses Larsson’s song “Midnight Sun,” splices together footage of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other U.S. law-enforcement personnel handcuffing men and placing them into vehicles. Its caption, “never ending deportations,” riffs on Larsson’s “never-ending midnight sun” lyric. BBC News reports the song has since been removed from the post, but the video itself remains visible on the White House’s TikTok feed.
Larsson posted a three-minute reaction video on TikTok that, according to BBC News, has drawn more than 4.2 million views. In the clip, she holds her fingers in an “L” shape against her forehead and tells her followers the White House video is “so dehumanising.” She says: “These people in this video – they’re real people.” She adds: “The vast majority of these people who are undocumented are regular people with jobs and they’re just trying to have a better future.” She accuses the White House of using her song to sow “division,” saying “it’s so crazy how everything is so memefied and so ‘ha-ha-ha.’” According to Larsson, the lyrics to “Midnight Sun” reflect “a connection between people and nature.”
BBC News said it had contacted the White House for comment; no White House response is reported in the piece.
Larsson is the latest artist to object to the Trump administration’s use of her music. Earlier this year, Larsson condemned a video of President Donald Trump dancing at various events that was overlaid with her hit “Lush Life.”
Other artists have made similar objections in recent months. Taylor Swift’s seasonal track “August” disappeared from a White House reel in August. Olivia Rodrigo had one of her songs removed from a White House video after she described the use as “hateful propaganda.” Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande have separately warned the Trump administration to stop using their music in social-media posts after the White House posted videos featuring their songs.