Jess Glynne has condemned the use of her song “Hold My Hand” after it was used in a White House video promoting ICE deportation flights.
The British pop star’s track has been the subject of a viral TikTok trend in recent months thanks to its featuring in a Jet2Holidays advert.
Users have soundtracked their clips of holidays gone wrong – from drunken exploits to mishaps with luggage and tourist hotspots – with the song and the voiceover that declares: “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday.”
Attempting to jump on the trend, the White House chose to use the audio clip to accompany footage of a group of migrants being deported.
Handcuffed undocumented people were seen being escorted by blurred-out Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials onto a GlobalX flight – an airline provider used by ICE.
The caption, which has drawn heavy criticism, said: “When ICE books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation. Nothing beats it!”
Posting to Instagram, Glynne wrote: “This post honestly makes me sick. My music is about love, unity and spreading positivity – never about division or hate.”
Actor Zoe Lister, who provided her voice for the “nothing beats a Jet2 holiday” line in the original campaign, also expressed her upset over the White House post.
“What can be done about [the White House] using [the Jet2] sound and my voiceover to promote their nasty agenda?” she asked.
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 dehumanisation leads.”
The White House account has seemingly mocked the ongoing backlash against its wider social media strategy, which has included heavy use of AI along with memes.
“Nowhere in the Constitution does it say we can’t post banger memes,” it wrote on its X account earlier this month.
Glynne originally released “Hold My Hand” as her third solo single in 2015. It topped the charts in the UK, becoming the singer’s first No 1.
In an interview last week, Lister said the TikTok trend was “a bit silly”, but she was loving how much people were enjoying themselves while using it.
“We're all just really enjoying it because it's just silly, it's stupid joy, and that's what we all need,” she said.
