You might be wondering what Sabrina Carpenter and Franklin the Turtle have in common. They both condemned the Trump administration’s use of their music and image in social media posts.
In a now deleted post on the social media platform X, the White House account tweeted a video depicting ICE raids that included Carpenter’s song “Juno.” Carpenter responded with a tweet saying, “this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.” Similarly, Olivia Rodrigo commented on the Department of Homeland Security’s Instagram video saying, “don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda.” Countless other musicians have voiced their disapproval over the Trump administration using their music without permission.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also posted on X with a photo captioned “For your Christmas wishlist…” depicting Franklin the Turtle pointing a bazooka with a title of “Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists.” Kids Can Press which is the publisher for the Franklin the Turtle books said, “We strongly condemn any denigrating, violent, or unauthorized use of Franklin’s name or image.” They have also said, “Franklin the Turtle is a beloved Canadian icon who has inspired generations of children and stands for kindness, empathy, and inclusivity.” However, Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said, “We doubt Franklin the Turtle wants to be inclusive of drug cartels… or laud the kindness and empathy of narco-terrorists.”
There have been multiple other instances where the Trump administration has used people’s image and music to support their agenda. SZA’s song “Big Boy” was used in a different video from the White House’s X account where she responded with a tweet saying, “White House rage baiting artists for free promo is PEAK DARK ..inhumanity +shock and aw tactics.” Even Pokémon’s theme song was used without permission in an ICE deportation video that was posted by the US government. The Trump administration seems to like using people’s songs, artwork, and images without the copyright holder’s permission. However, Carpenter and Kids Can Press haven’t seemed to take any legal action over these posts.
