Jess Glynne’s “Hold My Hand” Used in Controversial ICE Deportation Video

Jess Glynne’s “Hold My Hand” Used in Controversial ICE Deportation Video

A White House social media post has sparked controversy by using British singer Jess Glynne’s hit song “Hold My Hand” as the soundtrack to a U.S. immigration deportation video. The clip – posted on July 29 to the official White House account on X (formerly Twitter) – shows Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents escorting shackled migrants onto a chartered plane, set to a cheery airline advertisement audio that features Glynne’s 2015 pop anthem.

The post’s caption riffed on the UK travel meme: “When ICE books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation. Nothing beats it!”. The use of an upbeat vacation ad soundtrack to depict forced removals has drawn widespread backlash from the public, political figures, and the artist herself, while officials in President Donald Trump’s administration have defended the video as a creative way to tout their immigration crackdown.

Viral Airline Ad Audio in a Deportation Clip

The controversial video borrows audio from a Jet2holidays airline commercial that went viral this summer as an internet meme. In its original form, the ad’s peppy voiceover (by actress Zoë Lister) touts a holiday deal over a montage of British vacation mishaps, all set to Jess Glynne’s uplifting “Hold My Hand.” The juxtaposition of the cheery narration (“Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday…”) with scenes of travel chaos turned the clip into a TikTok trend. By late July, the meme audio had been used in roughly 2 million TikTok videos ranging from comedic vacation fails to shocking accident footage. Glynne herself even participated in the light-hearted trend on social media before the White House appropriated it for a very different message.

In the White House’s version, the meme’s context shifted dramatically. The 19-second montage, posted by the administration’s account, replaced holiday humor with real enforcement footage: detainees in handcuffs being led by ICE officers onto a GlobalX charter flight (a carrier commonly used for deportations). The familiar Jet2 ad jingle and Glynne’s vocals play unchanged, creating a jarring contrast between the soundtrack’s carefree vibe and the video’s grim subject. Within hours, the post amassed over 11 million views on X. While some Trump supporters reacted positively to the meme-style messaging, many viewers were shocked – one commenter wrote, “The ACTUAL White House account hopping on the Jet2 trend to poke fun at deportees is mind blowing”. Others tagged Jet2’s official account to ask if the airline condoned its brand being used in this manner.

Singer Jess Glynne “Sick” Over Use of Her Song

Jess Glynne, the Grammy-winning artist behind “Hold My Hand,” has condemned the video. The 35-year-old British pop singer said she was “devastated” and felt “sick” seeing her music attached to a propaganda-style post about deporting migrants. “My music is about love, unity and spreading positivity – never about division or hate,” Glynne wrote in an Instagram story, stressing that “Hold My Hand” was intended to offer hope and empowerment, not to be co-opted in support of policies she fundamentally disagrees with. Glynne noted that the White House video utterly contradicts the song’s message of standing by someone through hard times. She had embraced the Jet2 meme in good fun earlier in the summer, but was outraged to see it turned toward what she viewed as an agenda of “division and hate.” The singer’s outspoken response places her among a number of artists who have objected to their songs being used in political or governmental messaging without permission.

Jet2 and Voiceover Actress Condemn the Video

Jet2, the UK airline and holiday company featured in the meme, also distanced itself from the White House’s post. On July 31, Jet2 issued a statement making clear it “does not endorse” the use of its popular advert audio in a U.S. government deportation video. A company spokesperson said that while Jet2 was pleased to see its branding become a viral phenomenon “in good humour” – even launching a contest to celebrate the meme’s popularity – it was “very disappointed to see our brand being used to promote government policy such as this”. Jet2’s upbeat campaign was meant to put a smile on people’s faces, the spokesperson noted, and the firm lamented that its slogan was repurposed in a context it called inappropriate.

Zoë Lister, the voice actress who delivered the Jet2 advert’s signature lines, was similarly dismayed. Lister said she “would never condone” her voice-over being used to support “Trump and his abhorrent policies”. Interviewed by the BBC, she remarked that the Jet2 meme had spread joy and laughter around the world – but “the White House video shows that Trump has neither”. Both Lister and Glynne have in recent days openly pondered what action can be taken after seeing their work co-opted. Neither the artist nor the airline gave the U.S. government permission to use the clip, raising questions about copyright misuse. (In the past, musicians from Aerosmith to Adele have objected to political use of their songs, though enforcement against a government post is legally murky.) For now, Jet2 and Glynne’s public rebukes make clear that the White House’s deportation meme was not authorized by those who created its audio content.

Public Outrage and Political Fallout

The mashup of a vacation jingle with scenes of forced removals has been met with intense backlash in the United States. Immigration advocates and many social media users accused the White House of trivializing a traumatic process and “dehumanising” migrants by treating their expulsion as a punchline. Critics across the political spectrum – including some conservatives – called the post “disgusting,” “embarrassing,” and “shameful”. One commenter angrily asked “How can any decent human being support this?” in response to the video. Even before official statements were made, the phrase “Nothing beats it!” took on a bitterly sarcastic tenor in comment threads condemning the administration’s tone.

Trump allies and hardline immigration supporters, on the other hand, appeared delighted by the meme. They praised the post for its brash celebration of deportations, which they view as necessary for public safety. The polarized reactions underscore how the video struck a nerve in the broader U.S. immigration debate. It comes at a time when the Trump administration is aggressively ramping up enforcement: ICE arrests have surged by over 200% compared to the previous year’s rates, and President Trump has repeatedly vowed to deport millions of undocumented residents. Against that backdrop, a lighthearted meme format being used to promote real deportation operations has only amplified tensions between immigration hawks and human rights advocates.

Notably, this is not the first time the revived Trump White House’s social media tactics have courted controversy. In recent months, the administration has embraced an unorthodox digital strategy that leans heavily on internet memes and viral content to push its agenda. Earlier in July, the White House posted an AI-generated video depicting Mr. Trump as a comic book king triumphantly stopping a New York policy – a post that even some conservatives blasted as “revoltingly un-American” in tone. And just weeks ago, officials tweeted a mock Time magazine cover hailing “King Trump” to celebrate the cancelation of a congestion tax, drawing rebukes from across the aisle. The administration has defended these stunts by saying there is “nowhere in the Constitution” that forbids posting “banger memes” in official communications. The Jet2/ICE video appears to be another example of this brash approach, though arguably one of the most jarring to date.

White House Defends “Meme” Approach Amid Crackdown

Despite the uproar, the White House has doubled down on its message. Abigail Jackson, a spokesperson for the Trump administration, told reporters that there is “nothing more unifying and positive” than deporting “criminal illegal aliens” to make American communities safer. She suggested that popular culture trends are fair game to get that point across, declaring that “the memes will continue until every criminal illegal alien is removed”. The administration argues that unconventional social media posts help grab attention and rally the base around President Trump’s hardline immigration agenda. In this case, officials say the Jet2-holiday parody was intended to celebrate a recent uptick in deportation operations, not to mock suffering. The White House noted that June saw a record pace of enforcement, with ICE reporting over 15,000 people deported that month amid an influx of funding and personnel.

Indeed, Mr. Trump has secured unprecedented resources for immigration enforcement since returning to office. In one of his signature moves, he signed legislation setting aside $170 billion for border security and ICE activities, including $45 billion dedicated to expanding detention capacity. ICE’s budget is slated to nearly double tenfold over five years with $76.5 billion in new funding, enabling large-scale removal operations. The administration contends that such measures target dangerous criminals, though data show many of those arrested have no criminal record. Facing criticism about harsh tactics, Trump officials have relied on social media theater to reframe the narrative. By repackaging deportations as a kind of dark humor meme, the White House attempted to project confidence and even enthusiasm about its crackdown.

However, judging by the swift condemnation, the gambit may have backfired. What was meant as a tongue-in-cheek boast instead galvanized opponents who say it exemplified a callous attitude toward immigrants. Jess Glynne, for one, hopes the uproar forces a rethink. “Hold My Hand” soared to uplifting prominence as a song about support and solidarity – and she insists it should remain far removed from government propaganda. As the dust settles, the administration’s use of a viral hit in this context has ignited debate over both the ethics and legality of repurposing pop culture in state messaging. For many, the incident stands as a stark reminder that even light-hearted art can be weaponized in service of polarizing policies – and that artists and brands are willing to speak out when they feel their work has been misused.