Overview
- The White House posted a short TikTok video showing explosions and the caption “Iran has been warned” that used a clip of Katy Perry’s 2010 hit “Firework.”
- Katy Perry said on X that she did not approve the use and called it a violation of the song’s intent as an anthem of hope, healing and inner strength.
- The White House replied by pointing to Perry’s 2012 Part of Me video with U.S. Marines and noting she sold her music catalog in 2023.
- The TikTok post went viral, drew millions of views and wide online debate about artist consent, and reporters say the video remains on the platform with no public legal action from Perry so far.
- Coverage places the dispute in a larger pattern of artists objecting to political uses of their work and raises practical questions about how platform audio libraries and past rights sales affect whether songs appear in official posts.