Olivia Rodrigo is calling out the Donald Trump administration for its pattern of quibbling with famous musicians, telling NPR in a new interview that she thinks it’s a “distraction” tactic.
While speaking to the independent media organization on Thursday (Sept. 3), the singer was asked about the time the Department of Homeland Security paired her song “All-American Bitch” with a video glorifying the immigration enforcement raids happening across the country in November. At the time, Rodrigo commented on the White House and DHS’ post, “don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda.”
Now, she has more thoughts about the debacle. “Ugh, my god,” she said on the air. “It was just so awful to see a song that I wrote about being trapped in a misogynistic box that we put women in … being put to these grotesque, cruel scenes of ICE raids.”
“Looking back at it now, I think that’s sort of a tool they use,” she continued of the Trump administration. “Picking fights with pop stars is a great distraction while they do other awful, awful things.”
When reached for comment Thursday, the DHS told Billboard, “America is grateful all the time for our federal law enforcement officers who keep us safe” and suggested that “Ms. Rodrigo thank them for their service, not belittle their sacrifice,” a recirculation of the same response it gave Billboard in March after another instance of the singer slamming ICE.
Rodrigo isn’t the first star to suggest that the real reason for the conservative administration’s continuous use of music by famously liberal artists such as Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande — who then clap back in public statements denouncing it — is to divert attention. After the White House used her song “Big Boy” in a clip, SZA wrote on X, “White House rage baiting artists for free promo is PEAK DARK.”
The DHS itself has also admitted to picking spats with celebrities for such purposes. “We made this video because we knew fake news media brands … would breathlessly amplify them,” an official told Variety in November after Swifties protested the use of Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” in a TikTok video. “Congrats, you got played.”
Rodrigo’s chat with NPR comes five days after the successful completion of her inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival, which raised $20 million — half of which came from Melinda French Gates doubling the initial donation — for charities supporting women and girls. Also on Thursday, the Grammy winner appeared on the digital cover of Rolling Stone alongside Chappell Roan, Doechii and Sarah McLachlan, all of whom were on the Daisy Chain lineup.
“I think that the people who want to keep us down rely on us feeling overwhelmed and alone,” Rodrigo told the publication about the festival’s purpose. “So I think an event where we can cultivate this community that’s full of hope and togetherness, I think that’s a really, really powerful thing these days.”
