Zara Larsson says she's 'just really sad' after the White House used her song Midnight Sun to soundtrack a TikTok showing ICE agents handcuffing and arresting people, calling the clip 'dehumanizing' and telling whoever made it, 'you guys are such f***ing losers.'
The video went up on Wednesday, pairing arrest footage with the caption promising more removals to come. Larsson, 28, responded in a video of her own that has already racked up more than five million views on TikTok. She didn't mince words about the people shown getting handcuffed.
What Larsson Said
'This video is so dehumanizing,' Larsson said. 'These people in this video are real people.' She said she wished she could sit down with whoever produced the clip, telling viewers that 'the biggest difference between us is that we were dealt a different hand in life.' Larsson, who is Swedish, said she felt lucky to have been born with opportunities that not everyone gets.
It's just so f***ing uncool. Oh my gosh, you guys are such f***ing losers.
Zara Larsson
She pushed back on the idea that being undocumented should be treated as a moral failing, describing undocumented immigrants as 'regular people with jobs' trying to build a better life. The song audio was eventually stripped from the post, though the video itself remained on the White House's TikTok account.
Not Larsson's First Clash With the White House
This isn't the first time Larsson has objected to her music soundtracking administration content. Earlier this year, the White House used her track Lush Life in a video of President Trump dancing next to text reading 'WE LOVE ICE and our law enforcement!' Larsson responded on Instagram with a blunt list of everything she loves that the administration doesn't seem to: immigrants, trans people, queer people, abortion access, contraception, welfare, and socialism, adding that she 'f***ing hates ICE.'
Part of a Bigger Pattern
Larsson is far from alone. The White House has repeatedly set enforcement footage, missile strikes and arrest videos to trending pop songs, drawing objections from artists including SZA, who called the administration 'evil' and accused it of 'rage-baiting' musicians in December after her music appeared in a video promoting ICE raids. Other artists have reportedly had similar experiences this year as the government leans on viral audio to make deportation content more shareable.
MQ's Take
The pattern here isn't accidental. Attaching a beloved pop song to footage of people getting zip-tied is a deliberate attempt to make cruelty feel casual, even catchy. Larsson's frustration lands because she's naming the tactic, not just the moment. And her earlier post, explicitly linking immigrant rights to trans rights and queer solidarity, is a reminder that the fight over how immigration enforcement gets marketed online is very much an LGBTQ+ issue too.
Source: PinkNews
Cover photo: Hellomoto100, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
