Hours after deleting the first video, the White House posted a new one featuring edited footage from an October promotional clip for Carpenter’s “SNL” appearance.
The White House deleted a controversial social media video promoting Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests that featured pop star Sabrina Carpenter’s song “Juno,” but quickly escalated the dispute by posting a new video using altered footage from her “Saturday Night Live” appearance.
The original video, posted Monday on the White House’s official X account, showed ICE agents detaining migrants while repeatedly playing the lyric “Have you ever tried this one?” from Carpenter’s hit song. The 21-second clip was captioned “Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye” with waving and heart emojis.
Carpenter, 26, responded Tuesday on X.
“This video is evil and disgusting,” Carpenter wrote. “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson initially defended the video in a statement to multiple news outlets, referencing Carpenter’s album title “Short n’ Sweet” and lyrics from her recent single, “Manchild.”
“Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country,” Jackson told The Washington Post. “Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?”
The administration quietly removed the video from X on Friday without explanation, though it remained posted on TikTok with the audio removed.
Hours after the deletion, the White House posted a new videoย featuring edited footage from an October promotional clip for Carpenter’s “SNL” appearance. In the original promo, Carpenter joked with cast member Marcello Hernรกndez about needing to arrest someone for being “too hot.” The White House version overdubbed the audio, replacing “hot” with “illegal,” then cut to a montage of ICE arrests.
The caption read: “PSA: If you’re a criminal illegal, you WILL be arrested & deported.”
The dispute joins a growing list of artists who have objected to the Trump administration’s use of their music in promotional videos. Olivia Rodrigo, Kenny Loggins, Jess Glynne and the band MGMT have all condemned unauthorized use of their songs in recent months.
