When the Department of Homeland Security posted a video montage of ICE deportations set to Radiohead's "Exit Music (For a Film)," they probably thought they were being cinematic. What they got instead was a master class in band-versus-government fury.

Radiohead's response, posted to social media: "To the U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Go f— yourselves."

Short. Direct. Very on-brand for a band that's been telling authority figures to f— off since 1992.

The video in question, according to Variety, showed agents conducting immigration enforcement operations, set to one of the most emotionally devastating songs in Radiohead's catalog. "Exit Music" was written for the 1996 Romeo + Juliet soundtrack—a song about doomed lovers escaping oppression. Using it to score deportations is either profound tonal deafness or deliberate provocation.

Either way, the band wasn't having it.

This is hardly the first time artists have objected to political use of their music. Bruce Springsteen spent decades telling Republicans to stop using "Born in the U.S.A."—a protest song, not a patriotic anthem. Rage Against the Machine had to repeatedly explain that yes, they are the machine you're raging against. Neil Young sued the Trump campaign in 2020 for using "Rockin' in the Free World" without permission.

But here's the thing: those were campaign rallies, where the legal doctrine of "public performance licensing" creates gray areas. This is a federal government agency using copyrighted music in an official video. That's a clearer infringement—assuming DHS didn't secure a license, which seems unlikely given the band's response.

Under U.S. copyright law, government use doesn't grant blanket immunity from licensing requirements. Federal agencies still need to clear music rights, just like everyone else. If DHS used the track without permission from or their label (), the band could issue a DMCA takedown, sue for infringement, or both.