Singer slams Trump administration for using her song to promote deportations
Jess Glynne, the 35-year-old British singer whose 2015 song "Hold My Hand" plays in the background of the U.K. budget airline Jet2's widely parodied commercial, hit back against the White House's decision to get in on the social media trend.
"This post honestly makes me sick. My music is about love, unity, and spreading positivity – never about division or hate," the Grammy-winning artist wrote in a July 30 Instagram story. The message was written next to a screenshot of the White House's post, whose caption read "When ICE books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation. ✈️🎶 Nothing beats it!"
In the Trump administration's video, 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.
USA TODAY has reached out to Jet2 for comment.
The 2024 Jet2 TV commercial, which has blown up on TikTok with nearly 2 million videos using the audio, features British actress Zoë 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."
Know your meme: The Jet2 holiday audio, explained
In an interview with NBC News, Lister called the trend "really funny and joyful."
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.
President Donald Trump has vowed to carry out mass deportations of unauthorized immigrants, citing threats to public safety.
However, there are reports of people, including schoolchildren, farm workers, and those who are married to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents without criminal records also being targeted by the Department of Homeland Security.
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