Jess Glynne criticises White House deportation video that uses viral Jet2 song
The singer, 35, whose hit song Hold My Hand features in the advert, said the social media post made her feel 'sick'.
Advertisement
It comes after the White House posted a video to social media of people being handcuffed and escorted on to a plane, alongside the caption: 'When ICE books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation. Nothing beats it!.'
The caption makes reference to the accompanying voiceover, which says: 'Nothing beats a Jet2holiday, and right now you can save £50 per person…'
Jess Glynne said her music is about 'love, unity, and spreading positivity'. Photo: Ian West/PA.
The audio has become a meme in recent weeks and has been used in more than 1.9 million videos on TikTok.
In a post to her Instagram story, Glynne said: 'This post honestly makes me feel sick. My music is about love, unity, and spreading positivity – never about division or hate.'
Advertisement
Earlier this month, Glynne met voiceover star Zoe Lister on Capital Breakfast to recreate the advert live on the radio.
Glynne told the station: 'It's mad because I feel like when I do my gigs, I feel like when I go to sing the hook, I feel like they're waiting for me to go 'nothing beats a Jet2 holiday.' It is tempting but I need to take this seriously, it can't be a joke.'
The White House has posted memes to its social media pages before, including an image of Donald Trump's face superimposed on to Superman alongside the caption: 'The symbol of hope. Truth. Justice. The American Way. Superman Trump.'
Jet2 has been approached for comment.
Advertisement
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
29 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Voters hate Medicaid cuts. Now Republicans are backpedaling
But many of those same Republicans in Congress are now openly fretting about President Donald Trump's signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he signed into law on July 4. Some worry that it slashes Medicaid funding for the working poor. Some think it doesn't cut enough federal funding. And it adds $4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. Call this "Vote yes and second-guess." That's not exactly the vibe Trump was looking for from his political party for what he had hoped would be a summer victory tour to celebrate this and other early accomplishments in his second term. But here, Trump - and his party in next year's midterm elections - have a serious problem. Americans don't like his massive budget bill, which swaps short-term tax relief for some low-income working people for permanent tax cuts for America's wealthiest people. That's only going to get worse as Americans see what programs Trump and his Republican allies have defunded and where they are boosting federal spending. Trump is dumping money into immigration policies Americans don't like Consider immigration, a signature issue for Trump, which previously won him significant support among American voters in 2016 and 2024. He's seen a reversal of fortunes here. That's probably because so many of us are watching masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents indiscriminately grabbing people off the street to be deported with little or no due process under the law. What Trump touted as an effort to deport violent criminals who entered this country illegally has devolved into an oppressive spectacle as ICE agents snatch people who hold green cards or appear at immigration hearings. Opinion newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter on people, power and policies in the time of Trump from columnist Chris Brennan. Get it delivered to your inbox. Trump's new budget bill includes $170 billion for more of that over the next four years, with $76.5 billion going to ICE to detain people snatched off our streets and to add 10,000 new agents to a force that already has 20,000. How is that going to play across America? Gallup offered us a clue with a mid-July survey that showed a sizable shift in how Americans view immigration. Opinion: Trump's policies on immigration, economy and trade are unpopular with Americans In 2024, 55% of Americans told Gallup they thought immigration should be decreased. That dropped to 30% this year, after they saw Trump's approach on the issue. And a record high - 79% - of U.S. adults told Gallup that immigration is good for this country. That same survey found that 62% of Americans disapprove of Trump's immigration policies. And he's about to drive this country deep into debt to ramp up an approach Americans don't like. Now Republicans want you to believe they're saving Medicaid Then there is the Republican regret. You get the feeling Republicans in Congress want to increase funding either for a time machine to undo their vote or a device to make voters forget how those senators and representatives supported Trump's big, beautiful bill. This game of both sides is as desperate as it is hypocritical. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri wrote an essay for The New York Times in May expressing concerns about how the bill will slash Medicaid for the working poor. Then he voted for Trump's budget. Now he says he's trying to undo some of the harm he supported with new legislation. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska expressed concerns before folding to support Trump's budget. Murkowski's shameless bid to spread the blame, by urging Republicans in the U.S. House not to endorse the bill she had just endorsed, of course, fell on its face. U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado touted her vote for Trump's budget in May. By late July, she was denouncing the government for not reducing the national debt. Opinion: MAGA is coming for Trump over lost Epstein files. Bondi may pay the price. U.S. Rep. Ted Cruz of Texas is among the legislators now calling to roll back the provision in Trump's budget that changes tax deductions for gamblers. Cruz's explanation for backtracking, according to NBC News: "Most Republicans didn't even know this was in the bill when they voted to pass it." Republicans are still spending our tax dollars recklessly Trump has assumed control of the Republican Party in Congress, where legislative leaders are careful to never act as an independent and coequal branch of government. They sing a song about making America great by cracking down on federal spending, while piling up the nation's debt. They're not spending less of your tax dollars. They're just making sure the super rich in America don't have to pay at the same rates as middle-class people. They're spending much, much more, just as Americans discover they like Trump's policies less and less every day. There's a cure for all this. It's called the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans in Congress are afraid of Trump. They really should be afraid of voters tossing them out of office for backing his budget. Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.
The Herald Scotland
29 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Jet2 slams Trump deportation meme. White House hits back
"Our branding has become something of a viral phenomenon this summer and we are pleased to see how many people have used it in good humour," a and Jet2holidays spokesperson said in a July 31 statement to USA TODAY. "This has put a smile on many people's faces, just like our holidays do." 'Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday': Mariah Carey, Jeff Goldblum and more stars jump on trend The statement continued: "We are of course aware of a post from the White House social media account. This is not endorsed by us in any way, and we are very disappointed to see our brand being used to promote Government policy such as this." In a video posted on the White House's official social media accounts on July 29, people are escorted out of a van and marched onto a plane while their hands and ankles are handcuffed. Though federal agents' faces are blurred, the detainees' faces are not. The footage is set to the audio of the 2024 commercial, which blasts British singer Jess Glynne's 2015 song "Hold My Hand" as it advertises a limited-time vacation package deal for customers. The caption for the White House's post, which references the script heard in the advertisement, reads: "When ICE books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation. ?? Nothing beats it!" Since his return to the White House, President Trump has spearheaded a mass deportation campaign, targeting undocumented workers and families across the 50 states. 'The memes will continue': White House When reached for comment by USA TODAY, the White House's deputy press secretary vowed to continue using memes to promote the Trump administration's campaign promise for a crackdown on people living in the U.S. without documents. "There is nothing more unifying and positive than deporting criminal illegal aliens and making American communities safer," said Abigail Jackson. "The memes will continue until every criminal illegal alien is removed!" 'Makes me sick': Singer slams White House for using her song to promote deportations Trump has long vowed to deport undocumented immigrants, citing threats to public safety. Deportation efforts, which have involved a huge budget increase for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and an expansion of jail facilities, including the so-called "Alligator Alcatraz," have contributed to steep declines in border crossings by unauthorized migrants. Despite claims of a focus on those with criminal backgrounds, there are reports of people, including schoolchildren, farm workers, those who are married to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents without criminal records, also being targeted by the Department of Homeland Security. Singer Jess Glynne 'sick' over deportation video using 'Hold My Hand' Glynne, 35, whose pop hit helped propel the widely parodied commercial to fame, has also spoken out about the White House's use of it. "This post honestly makes me sick. My music is about love, unity, and spreading positivity - never about division or hate," she wrote in a July 30 Instagram story alongside a screenshot of the White House's deportation video on X. Know your meme: The Jet2 holiday audio, explained What is 'a Jet2 holiday'? The 2024 commercial, which has blown up on TikTok with nearly 2 million videos using its audio, features British actress Zoe Lister heartily declaring, "Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday. And right now, you can save ?50 per person! That's ?200 off for a family of four." Many users feature the upbeat sound in their videos, juxtaposing it with a horrifying vacation incident or a funny, candid moment. One post depicts a traveler standing in a construction zone after allegedly being stranded in Croatia because their hotel "hasn't actually been built yet." Another shows a person spraying a fire extinguisher around an airport terminal after attempting to sneak on an airplane.
The Independent
33 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump has taken bullying to a whole new level – and not just with tariffs
You know that famous bit of chaos theory where a butterfly flutters its wings in the Amazon and a hurricane results in another part of the world? It's the idea that a minute change in complex interlinking structures can have huge consequences elsewhere. Well, forget butterflies in the Amazon and replace it with an electronic ankle tag put on a 70 year old Brazilian bloke who was considered a flight risk, and the whirlwind it has produced thousands of miles north in Washington DC. The 70 year old is Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil who is facing prison for his attempts to mount a coup to stop Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking over the reins of power in 2023 after the Brazilian general election. Donald Trump and Bolsonaro back in the day were kindred spirits: swashbuckling, anti-establishment wrecking balls who were going to make their respective countries great again, even if that meant refusing to accept the results of each country's respective democratic elections. Now this won't be the first sentence written which has the words Trump and chaos alongside each other. The first six months of his presidency have given endless examples of surreal moments. Some might argue that tariffs policy, where import penalties have gone up and down with dizzying rapidity, is a prime example of chaos theory. Just look at what has unfolded this week. Dozens of countries have been punished for failing to reach agreement with the US. We've seen a small section of Amazon rainforest felled for newsprint to explain the tariffs policy. The arguments have become familiar. America has been ripped off by its friends and neighbours for too long, with non-tariff barriers by all and sundry putting the US at a trading disadvantage. Only by the US imposing tariffs will those trade imbalances be corrected. And at Trump's famous (or maybe that should be infamous) 'liberation day' event in the White House rose garden the size of the tariff to be imposed was in direct correlation with the size of the trade deficit. It was a blunt instrument and terribly calculated, but you could see the theory. So what has this to do with Jair Bolsonaro? Well, President Trump has now imposed Brazil with crippling 50 per cent tariffs on all goods exported to the US that will remain in place unless and until the charges against Bolsonaro are dropped. But hang on, I hear you say, aren't tariffs imposed depending on size of the trade deficit (and between Brazil and the US there is more or less no surplus or deficit on either side)? And what the hell business is it of Donald Trump to interfere in the judicial independence of another country? Isn't this the independent supreme court in Brasilia going about its work – wheels of justice and all that? Yes, I grant you, these are good questions. But this is becoming the preferred weapon of an authoritarian president: impose blunt force trauma by thwacking over the head with devastating financial penalties if you don't do what I want. It's not just Brazil. Canada too is now facing increased tariffs from 25 up to 35 per cent on certain goods. Why? Because it has announced that – like the UK – it will recognise Palestine if certain conditions aren't met by the Israeli government. If you're next question is 'why isn't he threatening the same to us seeing as we are in pretty much the same boat as Mark Carney's government in Ottawa?' then all I can offer you is a shrug emoji. The former US president, Theodore Roosevelt, used to talk about the 'bully pulpit' enjoyed by the inhabitant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. By it he meant a president's unrivalled ability to shape the national conversation. When you spoke from that pulpit you had the ability to command the nation's attention and bully your enemies in a way they never could to you. Trump has taken that to a whole different level. There isn't much that is under-reported about the doings of Donald Trump in these first six months in the White House, but the shakedown – and it's hard to know what other word to use – of some of America's biggest law firms has had scant attention. On the most spurious grounds Trump threatened to ban them from doing all government work worth billions of dollars unless they agreed to do pro bono work for causes dear to the president's heart. A couple of firms have agreed to each do $125 million of free work for him. A lawyer I know at one of these firms said it was extortion, pure and simple. Harvard University is looking to make peace with Trump for $500 million. A number of media companies who had big mergers in the balance have coughed up millions of dollars after the president sued them on the most vexatious grounds. CBS, to their eternal discredit, have axed The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – because Colbert has been a longstanding thorn in Trump's side, and presumably executives at the parent company, Paramount, thought offering him up as roadkill would grease the wheels of their proposed multi-billion dollar -merger with Skydance Media. And guess what? It worked. The deal was given the go-ahead last week. Trump crowed about the demise of Colbert on Truth Social. Colbert who is always punchy addressed his being cancelled by saying to the president: 'Go f*** yourself'. Brazil for the moment is using more diplomatic language, but it is not bending either; a rare example of a country that is prepared to stand up to Trump. Canada has also to work out what it intends to do. Blackmail is an ugly word, but it does look as though regardless of whether you are a sovereign nation, an independent media company, an academic institution or a law firm, if you don't do what Donald Trump demands then you'd better be prepared for the consequences.
