Zara Larsson Blasts Trump’s White House as ‘F—ing Losers’ for Using ‘Midnight Sun’ to Promote Deportations

Swedish pop sensation Zara Larsson has publicly condemned the White House after her track "Midnight Sun" was featured in a TikTok clip showing ICE agents placing individuals in handcuffs and carrying out deportations. The video bore the caption "Never ending deportations." Larsson, whose 2024 album "Venus" and hits like "Lush Life" and "Symphony" have made her one of Scandinavia's biggest pop exports, fired back with her own TikTok response, pressing an "L" to her forehead to express her frustration. "I'm just sad. My heart is heavy seeing that, because I wish I could speak to whoever made that video," she stated. "I wish I could talk to you, and I wish I could help you remember that you and I, we aren't that different. And we're not that different from the people in the video, either. The biggest difference between us is that we were dealt a different hand in life."

The singer then reflected on the advantages she was born with, pointing out that growing up in Sweden afforded her educational access and chances that many never get. "I consider myself so lucky with the life that I've been dealt. The fact that I'm born in Sweden, I've had an education and I've had all these opportunities just sort of laid out in front of me. I get to travel and do all these amazing things. That's luck," she said. "There are people out there who are not that lucky, and they want to have a better life for their families. I just don't understand how it could be the worst thing in the world to be an undocumented immigrant. This video is so dehumanizing." Her comments align with a longstanding tradition of Swedish musicians leveraging their fame for social justice causes, a position that has occasionally brought them into conflict with right-wing political groups throughout Europe. Sweden's robust social welfare system and progressive immigration policies have historically positioned many of its artists as vocal critics of restrictive border measures elsewhere.

Wrapping up her message, Larsson directed attention to the people captured in the footage. "These people in the video are real people. There's a fucking guy in there with construction wear. He's working. These people who are undocumented are regular people with jobs, and they're just trying to have a better future," she said. "It's so crazy how everything is so meme-ified, especially 'Midnight Sun,' which is about feeling connected to nature, the universe and people. And this just creates this massive divide between people. It's so fucking uncool. You guys are such fucking losers." The track "Midnight Sun" is part of her album "Venus," which dropped in early 2024 and charted in the top ten across multiple European nations.

This isn't the first time Larsson has butted heads with the White House over music usage. Earlier this year, the administration shared a video of President Donald Trump dancing to her song "Lush Life," with on-screen text backing his policies, including "WE LOVE ICE and our law enforcement!" Larsson clapped back on Instagram: "I love immigrants, I love criminals, I love trans people, I love abortions, I love queers, I love slutty women, I love contraception, I love welfare, I love socialism, I fucking hate ICE." Her position puts her in the company of a rising number of artists speaking out against unauthorized use of their work for political purposes. Ariana Grande recently objected after her song "bye" appeared in a similar video depicting ICE arrests, saying, "Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. Fck ice." The White House has yet to comment on Larsson's latest rebuke.