SZA is the latest artist to be pulled into a political firestorm after the Trump White House used her song “Big Boys” in a video celebrating ICE arrests. The singer slammed the move as “PEAK DARK,” accusing the administration of intentionally provoking artists for free publicity and highlighting a growing trend of weaponizing pop culture in political messaging.
In a move that signifies a sharp escalation in the contentious relationship between politics and pop culture, Grammy-winning artist SZA has publicly condemned the Trump administration for the unauthorized use of her music. The song in question, the fan-favorite “Big Boys,” was repurposed as the soundtrack for a social media video promoting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests, a decision the singer labeled a deliberate act of provocation.
This incident is not merely another case of a musician objecting to their work being used in a campaign; it represents a calculated strategy SZA herself identified as “rage baiting.” The administration appears to be intentionally co-opting popular art to trigger a public response, thereby generating engagement and amplifying its own political narrative at the artist’s expense.
The ‘Rage Bait’ Tactic Explained
On Monday, the White House’s official account posted a video montage of ICE officers in military-style gear carrying out arrests. The jarring soundtrack was SZA’s upbeat “Big Boys,” a song originally created for a comedic Saturday Night Live digital short. The caption cynically twisted a popular slang term: “WE HEARD IT’S CUFFING SZN. Bad news for criminal illegal aliens. Great news for America.”
SZA’s response was swift and incisive. She took to X (formerly Twitter) to call out the administration’s motives directly. “White House rage baiting artists for free promo is PEAK DARK,” she wrote. “inhumanity + shock and aw tactics … Evil n Boring.”
Proving her point, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded not with an apology, but with a taunt that embraced the controversy. “Thank you, SZA, for drawing even more attention to the tremendous work America’s ICE officers are doing,” Jackson stated, confirming the administration’s intent to leverage the artist’s platform.
A Pattern of Provocation
This confrontation is not an isolated event. It follows a nearly identical incident just last week involving pop star Sabrina Carpenter. The administration first used her song “Juno” in a similar ICE video. After Carpenter decried the video as “evil and disgusting,” the White House quietly removed it—only to escalate by then using a doctored clip from her SNL appearance, twisting her words to fit a pro-enforcement message, a move detailed by People.
The back-to-back targeting of two major female artists suggests a deliberate playbook: co-opt a song, wait for the inevitable backlash, and then use that backlash to further energize a political base while dominating the news cycle.
A Long History of Music vs. Politics
Musicians have long fought to keep their work from being associated with political campaigns they don’t support. This issue has spanned decades and party lines, creating a consistent point of conflict between creators and politicians. A long list of iconic artists have sent cease-and-desist letters or publicly demanded their music not be used, including:
- Bruce Springsteen
- Neil Young
- R.E.M.
- Linkin Park
- Céline Dion
- Jack White
- Olivia Rodrigo
While these disputes are common, the Trump administration’s approach marks a significant departure. Previous campaigns often stopped using a song after an artist’s public objection. In contrast, the current strategy appears to welcome and even encourage the conflict, viewing the ensuing culture war narrative as a political victory, regardless of the artist’s rights or wishes. The history of these conflicts has been well-documented, with many artists taking legal or public action to protect their work [People].
Why It Matters: The Weaponization of Culture
The SZA and Sabrina Carpenter incidents reveal a new, more aggressive front in political communication. This is not about winning over fans of these artists. Instead, it’s about using the cultural capital and massive reach of these celebrities as a tool for political agitation.
By pairing an upbeat, apolitical pop song with stark images of law enforcement raids, the videos create a sense of surreal, ironic detachment designed to be maximally disruptive online. It forces artists into a defensive position and frames them as opponents of a specific government agenda, a narrative that can then be spun to a political base.
SZA’s powerful condemnation, calling the tactic “inhumanity + shock and aw,” perfectly captures the essence of this strategy. It is a deliberate attempt to drain art of its original meaning and repurpose it as a blunt instrument in a divisive political landscape. The controversy is the point, and artists are now being treated as unwilling participants in a campaign they vehemently oppose.
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