Entertainment
Entertainment
Embedded Files
WH's Unauthorized Audio Use Causes Backlash from Artist, Not the First Time
WH's Unauthorized Audio Use Causes Backlash from Artist, Not the First Time
July 31, 2025
Jess Glynne has said she feels "sick" that the White House has used the viral Jet2holiday advert featuring her song as the audio to a video promoting deportations. The White House posted a clip on X on Wednesday showing handcuffed people being escorted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) onto a GlobalX flight (a flight provider for ICE).
Jet2's advert featuring Glynne's 2015 single Hold my Hand, and a cheery voiceover saying "nothing beats a Jet2 holiday" - which has become a meme - is played over the video. Zoe Lister, the advert's voiceover actress, told the BBC she would "never condone my voiceover being used" to promote what she called "Trump and his abhorrent policies".
"The Jet2 meme has spread a lot of joy and humour around the world but the White House video shows that Trump has neither," she added.
Responding to the clip, Glynne said on Instagram that her music "is about love, unity and spreading positivity - never about division or hate".
Last summer, Abba complained after their hits including The Winner Takes it All were played at one of Trump's presidential campaign rallies. They requested the videos be removed and taken down. The estate of Sinéad O'Connor has also asked Trump to stop using her music at his political rallies. Her estate told the BBC O'Connor would have been "disgusted, hurt and insulted" by his use of her music. Adele distanced herself from the president in 2016 after he played Rolling In The Deep as his "warm-up" music and lawyers for Aerosmith star Steven Tyler sent Trump's campaign a cease-and-desist letter in 2015. After the he played the band's hit single Dream On at numerous rallies around the US.
The White House has yet to respond to criticism of its Jet2 post. Comments on the Instagram version appear to be overwhelmingly negative, with users branding it “abhorrent” and “embarrassing”.
“You are making our nation the laughing stock of the world,” one person said, while another added: “Using a lighthearted trend to promote deportations is not only distasteful, it’s dangerous. We’ve seen where dehumanization leads.”
South Park Speaks Up
South Park Speaks Up
July 24, 2025
The start of the new season of “South Park” was delayed by several weeks while the Paramount network secured a deal worth $1.5 billion with the show’s creators for the streaming rights. Paramount is the owner of CBS, which has been firmly in Trump’s crosshairs. After a two-year break, “South Park” returned to TV on Wednesday night with an explosive episode titled "Sermon on the Mount" aimed squarely at Donald Trump that depicted the president in bed with Satan and referenced Jeffrey Epstein.
The episode features Trump arguing with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who complains about tariffs on Canada and says: “What are you, some kind of dictator from the Middle East?” After confusing Iran and Iraq, the “South Park” version of Trump tells Carney to “relax.” Trump is also depicted lining the walls of the White House with naked pictures of himself. In another scene, Trump jumps into bed with Satan, who rejects his sexual advances and comments on the size of his "mushroom." Satan later confronts Trump about his name appearing on the “Epstein list” and adds: “It’s weird that whenever it comes up, you just tell everyone to relax.” Longtime “South Park” viewers will remember that the creators did something similar in 1999, when they depicted Saddam Hussein in a relationship with Satan. Wednesday’s episode includes Satan telling the Trump character that he reminds him of a guy he used to date.
The animated show also referenced Trump’s lawsuit against Paramount. Trump (voiced by Stone) sues the town of South Park for $5 billion after it challenges Jesus Christ’s presence in the elementary school. The townspeople are prepared to fight back, but Jesus Christ (also voiced by Stone) urges them to settle.
“You guys saw what happened to CBS? Yeah, well, guess who owns CBS? Paramount,” Jesus Christ says at the episode’s climax. “Do you really want to end up like Colbert? You guys got to stop being stupid.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, responding to a question about the episode at a public meeting Thursday, said in part: “I’m not a ‘South Park’ watcher.” Carr, who was appointed by Trump, added that the president believes “a handful of national programmers” should not "control and dictate to the American what the narrative is, what they can say, what they can think.”
In a statement, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in part: "This show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention."
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse