Olivia Rodrigo ‘enraged’ over use of her song in immigration enforcement video

By Pierra Willix, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter

Olivia Rodrigo has said she was “deeply disturbed” to find out one of her songs was being used to promote the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency.

The 23-year-old Filipino-American singer has detailed her first reaction after discovering All-American Bitch was being used by Ice last year.

“I was just scrolling on my phone,” she told Dazed Magazine.

“It was so deeply disturbing to see that propaganda, and the fact it was my song in there made me feel even more enraged.

“What they are doing is so awful and barbaric and cruel. I am really sad to be in a country that thinks that is OK.”

In November, Ice’s umbrella agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), posted a video which used the first song from her 2023 album Guts over images of Ice agents detaining people of colour.

The DHS captioned the video: “LEAVE NOW and self-deport using the CBP Home app. If you don’t, you will face the consequences.”

The song played in the background with the following lyrics: “All the time, I am grateful all the time, I am sexy and I’m kind, I am pretty when I cry.”

Rodrigo initially commented on the DHS post: “Do not ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda.”

In March she again condemned Ice, telling British Vogue the use of her song in the agency’s videos was “awful” and “dystopian”.

“The way that Ice is ripping apart communities and terrorising people is so disturbing. It is a really sad, scary time,” she said.

Last year Rodrigo also spoke out against the Trump administration after Ice raids in Los Angeles.

She wrote on Instagram: “I have lived in LA my whole life, and I am deeply upset about these violent deportations of my neighbours under the current administration. LA simply would not exist without immigrants. Treating hardworking community members with such little respect, empathy, and due process is awful.”

She is among several artists who have objected to President Donald Trump or his administration using their music without consent, including Beyonce, the Rolling Stones and Jess Glynne.

The British singer shared her anger last year when one of her songs was used in a White House video promoting deportation, writing: “This post honestly makes me sick. My music is about love, unity, and spreading positivity – never about division or hate.”