White House Doubles Down, Releases Second Video Using Sabrina Carpenter to Promote ICE Enforcement
- Dec 7
- 2 min read
07 December 2025
The controversy surrounding the White House’s use of pop-music and imagery in its immigration enforcement messaging escalated over the weekend when a second video surfaced, this time re-editing a sketch from Saturday Night Live (SNL) featuring Sabrina Carpenter. The post repurposed a humorous joke from her October SNL promo originally about playfully “arresting” someone for being “too hot” by changing the line to “arrest someone for being too illegal.” The clip then cuts to footage of ICE agents detaining immigrants, accompanied by a stark message: “PSA: If you’re a criminal illegal, you WILL be arrested & deported.”
This move came just days after Carpenter publicly condemned a prior White House video that had used her 2024 song Juno as a soundtrack to images of immigration raids. That first video drew widespread criticism from fans and fellow artists. Carpenter responded forcefully on social media, calling the clip “evil and disgusting” and demanding her music not be used to support what she described as an “inhumane agenda.”
In their latest release, the administration bypassed using her music perhaps to cloak the reuse under plausible deniability but kept Carpenter’s likeness front and center. The altered SNL footage features the singer and SNL cast member Marcello Hernández, with Hernandez raising his arms as if to be handcuffed. The clip quickly transitions to scenes of ICE arrests, blending parody with political messaging.
A White House spokesperson defended the video, dismissing critics and framing the message as a necessary stance against “dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles.” The statement referenced lyrics from another of Carpenter’s songs while refusing to apologise or remove the post.
The stunt has generated broad backlash across social-media platforms, from civil-rights advocates and music-industry figures alike. Many see it as a cynical manipulation of pop culture turning entertainment into propaganda and leveraging a young artist’s brand without her consent or support.
For Carpenter, this marks yet another moment in a growing trend of public figures and artists saying “no” to unauthorized government use of their work joining voices like Olivia Rodrigo, Kenny Loggins, and others who have challenged similar appropriation in recent months.
As the backlash intensifies, the episode highlights the tensions between art, consent, and political messaging in the digital age. For audiences and artists alike the message is clear: what begins as pop-culture can quickly be repurposed into political rhetoric sometimes without warning, and often without approval.
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