White House Supports Sabrina Carpenter in New ICE Promotion with Marcello Hernández from SNL

Sabrina Carpenter (left) and Marcello Hernández (right), a man being arrested by ICE agents.
Credit: Saturday Night Live/YouTube; The White House/X

NEED TO KNOW

• The White House stood firm after Sabrina Carpenter criticized the use of her music in a video promoting ICE arrests.
• After deleting the initial post Carpenter labeled “evil and disgusting,” the White House released a new video featuring a doctored clip of Carpenter and SNL‘s Marcello Hernández.
• This latest video followed Carpenter’s statement asking the Trump administration not to “involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”

The White House recently faced backlash after using Sabrina Carpenter’s song in an advertisement promoting ICE arrests. Following significant criticism from the artist, they deleted the original video, only to subsequently post a new video that featured Carpenter’s likeness.

In the new clip, released to various social media platforms, including TikTok and X, the White House edited together footage of Carpenter, 26, with Hernández, 28. The video promotes Carpenter’s upcoming appearance on Saturday Night Live and alters her words from “hot” to “illegal” in a remix of a previous skit where she humorously “arrests” audience members during her “Short n’ Sweet” tour.

In the edited video, Carpenter quips, “I think I might need to arrest someone for being too illegal [hot],” to which Hernández responds, “Well, I turn myself in.” It transitions to compilation footage of immigration and customs enforcement officers detaining individuals immediately after Carpenter declares, “You’re under arrest—.”

The accompanying caption from the White House read, “PSA: If you’re a criminal illegal, you WILL be arrested & deported. ✨” The video was set to a remix of Rihanna’s “S&M” and “I Get the Bag” by Gucci Mane featuring Migos.

As of December 6, representatives for both Carpenter and Hernández had not responded to inquiries regarding the situation.

Prior to its deletion on December 1, the original video showcased clips of immigration officers making arrests, set to Carpenter’s song “Juno,” repeatedly emphasizing the lyric, “Have you ever tried this one?” The White House captioned it with, “Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye 👋😍.”

In response to the now-removed post, Carpenter’s reaction garnered widespread attention, amassing 1.8 million likes and over 160 million views on X. She labeled the video as “evil and disgusting” and urged the administration not to use her music for its agenda, reiterating her stance on the matter.

On December 2, a White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, countered Carpenter’s remarks, stating, “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. Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?”

Carpenter is among multiple artists who have publicly denounced the Trump administration for using their music in political contexts. Other prominent artists expressing similar frustrations include Olivia Rodrigo, Jack White, Céline Dion, Bruce Springsteen, Linkin Park, R.E.M., and Neil Young.