Overview
- The White House posted a short TikTok showing unclassified footage of U.S. strikes on Iran set to Katy Perry's 2010 hit with the caption “Iran has been warned,” timing the lyric “boom, boom, boom” to explosions.
- Katy Perry said on X that she was “deeply appalled and angry,” that she was not asked for permission, and that the song’s message was being “weaponized” to soundtrack violence.
- Reports say the video remained visible on the White House account and news outlets had not received a substantive public response from the administration as of the latest coverage.
- Perry’s protest follows a string of artists who have publicly objected to the administration’s unapproved use of their music and in prior cases the White House has at times removed audio from posts.
- The dispute raises practical questions about rights, licensing and reputational harm for artists—complicated by recent catalog sales—and could prompt further removals, legal scrutiny, or policy review of official social media use.