The standoff between pop star Sabrina Carpenter and the White House intensified over the weekend, as officials reposted a new video featuring her likeness just days after removing a previous post that included her music.
According to PEOPLE, Carpenter had already blasted the administration for pairing one of her songs with footage of immigration arrests. That initial video vanished from official accounts shortly after her public rebuke.
However, instead of backing off, the White House adopted a new approach.
In the updated clip, officials used doctored footage from Carpenter’s Saturday Night Live promo with cast member Marcello Hernández. The original skit played on her tradition of jokingly “arresting” celebrities during her Short n’ Sweet tour. The edited version shifted her scripted word “hot” to “illegal.”
“I think I might need to arrest someone for being too illegal [hot],” Carpenter appears to say in the altered clip. Hernández responds, “Well, I turn myself in.”
Carpenter’s line, “You’re under arrest—,” is cut off as the video abruptly transitions to a montage of immigration and customs enforcement officers detaining individuals.
The caption read, “PSA: If you’re a criminal illegal, you WILL be arrested & deported. ✨,” set to a remix combining Rihanna’s “S&M” and “I Get the Bag” by Gucci Mane featuring Migos.
The reposted video landed on both TikTok and X.
The controversy began with a Dec. 1 video using her song “Juno.” That compilation, which showed immigration officers arresting people to the repeated lyric “Have you ever tried this one?”, carried a caption from the White House: “Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye 👋😍.”
Carpenter’s response drew massive attention online.
“This video is evil and disgusting,” she wrote. “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”
Her post amassed more than 1.8 million likes and over 160 million views.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson issued a sharp statement after Carpenter’s criticism.
“Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country,” Jackson said. “Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?”
Carpenter now joins a growing list of artists who have objected to the administration’s use of their work, including Olivia Rodrigo, Jack White, Céline Dion, Bruce Springsteen, Linkin Park, R.E.M., and Neil Young.
