SZA is the latest artist to slam the White House for using one of her songs in a pro-ICE ad, calling it “evil” and “boring.”
The singer reacted on Twitter after the White House used “Big Boy,” originally aired as part of an SNL sketch in December 2022, in a social media post earlier this week. “White House rage baiting artists for free promo is PEAK DARK ..inhumanity +shock and aw tactics,” she wrote. “Evil n Boring.”
The White House used the viral tune to promote the actions of ICE, tweeting a video that showed agents arresting immigrants. “We heard it’s cuffing szn,” posted the White House, a reference to the song’s lyrics. “Bad news for criminal illegal aliens. Great news for America.”
SZA‘s manager Punch also seemed to address the White House post, writing on X, “Trying to provoke [artists] to respond in order to help spread propaganda and political agendas is nasty business. Knock it off.”
In a statement to Variety, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson commented, “Thank you, SZA, for drawing even more attention to the tremendous work America’s ICE officers are doing by arresting dangerous criminal illegal aliens from American communities.”
SZA joins a growing list of artists who have spoken out against the White House for repurposing their songs for posts. Last week, Sabrina Carpenter slammed Donald Trump’s administration for using her hit song “Juno” in a video montage depicting ICE raids. “This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” she wrote on social media.
Shortly after deleting the initial X post, the White House posted another clip of Carpenter doing an SNL commercial with the audio overdubbed so that it appears to be calling cast member Marcello Hernández “illegal” instead of “hot.”
