Olivia Rodrigo Says ICE Is ‘Barbaric’ & Makes Her ‘Sad to Be in a Country That Thinks That’s OK’

Olivia Rodrigo is once again making it clear where she stands when it comes to ICE as it carries out mass deportations and aggressive raids under the Donald Trump administration.

In her Dazed cover story published Thursday (June 4), the pop star began by saying she thinks “part of being an artist is sharing how you feel with other people,” which she believes should include political beliefs. “I don’t have a political science degree. I’m not the most educated person on planet Earth, but I like to try and stay up to date on things and share how I feel,” she said.

Rodrigo went on to recall what she was doing when she first discovered that the Department of Homeland Security had used one of her songs — “All-American Bitch” — to soundtrack a video glorifying ICE on social media last year. “I was just scrolling on my phone,” she told the publication. “It was so deeply disturbing to see that propaganda, and the fact it was my song in there made me feel even more enraged.”

The moment led to one of her most outspoken moments, with the singer commenting on the DHS video in November, “don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda.”

A few months later, the department would respond in a statement to Billboard: “We suggest Ms. Rodrigo thank them for their service, not belittle their sacrifice.”

But Rodrigo is holding her ground. “What they’re doing is so awful and barbaric and cruel,” she told Dazed. “I am really sad to be in a country that thinks that’s OK.”

In a response to her most recent remarks, a DHS spokesperson told Billboard, “America is grateful all the time for our federal law enforcement officers who keep us safe. We suggest Ms. Rodrigo thank them for their service, not belittle their sacrifice.”

The interview comes a little more than a week ahead of the Grammy winner’s third studio album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, arriving June 12. Its first two singles, “Drop Dead” and “The Cure,” debuted at No. 1 and No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

See Rodrigo on the cover of Dazed and photos from the shoot below.