SZA has slammed White House officials for using one of her songs in an advert promoting their anti-immigration raids.
Representatives for Trump’s administration posted a social media video earlier this week showing agents with America’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arresting immigrants.
To soundtrack the video, they used Big Boys, a song performed by SZA as part of a Saturday Night Live sketch in December 2022, and its lyrics about “cuffing season”, a dating term used to describe single people finding a short-term partner for the colder months.
Alongside the clip, the White House reps noted their different interpretation of the lyrics, writing, “We heard it’s cuffing szn. Bad news for criminal illegal aliens. Great news for America.”
The Kill Bill hitmaker responded by calling out the White House for using famous artists’ music on their videos to provoke them into a public reaction and drawing more attention to their footage.
“White House rage baiting artists for free promo is PEAK DARK ..inhumanity +shock and aw tactics ..Evil n Boring (sic),” she wrote on X, while her manager Punch also stated, “Trying to provoke artist(s) to respond in order to help spread propaganda and political agendas is nasty business. Knock it off.”
In response to their posts, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Variety in a statement, “Thank you, SZA, for drawing even more attention to the tremendous work America’s ICE officers are doing by arresting dangerous criminal illegal aliens from American communities.”
SZA joins a growing list of artists who have called out the White House for using their songs in their videos.
Most recently, Sabrina Carpenter slammed them for using her hit Juno over a video montage of ICE raids.
“This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” she wrote on social media.
