Kesha has joined the coterie of Olivia Rodrigo, the Rolling Stones, Celine Dion, Radiohead, Sabrina Carpenter and Isaac Hayes and others who really don’t like Donald Trump and his MAGA gang using their music at rallies, in videos and online.
For a White House that views backing down or admitting a mistake as a cardinal sin, the “Tik Tok” singer’s objections just got spun around into a win for Team Trump — at least by their own estimation.
“All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this,” posted WH Communications boss Steven Cheung after Kesha took to social media to slam the administration for putting her song “Blow” under footage with the title “Lethality” from a February 10 TikTok posting of a jet launching a missile and destroying what appears to be enemy ship. “This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re bitching about.”
All these “singers” keep falling for this. This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re bitching about.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. https://t.co/QIAzNh4Xhg
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) March 3, 2026
While the often biting Cheung may have a point, the reverse is also true of what can happen to the White House when it spotlights what it considers snowflake reactions. In this case, Kesha went full Epstein Files on Trumpland in response with a less-is-way-more, “Stop using my music, perverts @WhiteHouse”
As of this evening, Cheung’s post has just over 26,000 views on X. On the flip, Kesha’s response to the WH Communications Director’s response has almost 547,000 views on the Elon Musk-owned platform.. So, do the math on who won that round.
In the bigger picture, the February 10 jet fighter short has received over 15 million views on TikTok.
This all started earlier Monday when Kesha wrote on her socials: “Trying to make light of war is disgusting and inhumane. I absolutely do NOT approve of my music being used to promote violence of any kind. Love always trumps hate. please love yourself and each other in times like this. This show of blatant disregard for human life and quite frankly this attack on all of our nervous systems is the opposite of what I stand for.”
Former UFC spokesperson Cheung’s pile driver comeback aside, the White House hasn’t exactly gotten the upper hand in many of these music battles.
In the past two weeks alone, the estate of Black Moses himself, Isaac Hayes, reached a settlement with Trump over their objections to his use of the the Hayes co-written “Hold On, I’m Coming” at campaign rallies. On February 23, as their lawsuit over the Sam and Dave-recorded hit was being self-dismissed, the Estate of the now deceased South Park star said the payout from Trump “reaffirms the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and copyrights, especially as they relate to legacy, ownership, and the responsible use of creative works.”
Just a few days later, on February 27, Radiohead offered up their response to a promotional video for Immigration and Customs Enforcement that features a version of their “Let Down” tune. “We demand that the amateurs in control of the ICE social media account take it down,” the British band said of the clip shared on accounts of Trump, the White House and DHS. “It ain’t funny, this song means a lot to us and other people, and you don’t get to appropriate it without a fight.”
They added: “Also, go f*ck yourselves.”
Which is kind of what Kesha said today, in about as many words.
BTW — Kesha’s original objection post has hit over 1 million views.
