Did She Forget?' Zara Larsson Faces MAGA Backlash Over Sexyy Red's Trump Past

Zara Larsson's surprise appearance with Sexyy Red at her Los Angeles concert has drawn criticism from some social media users, who resurfaced the rapper's past praise for Donald Trump and questioned the collaboration.

Sexyy Red joined Larsson onstage at the Greek Theatre on Tuesday, 29 September. Larsson's 'Ain't My Fault' incorporated elements of Sexyy Red's 'Looking For The Hoes (Ain't My Fault)' before the rapper appeared for the latter track.

The political reaction is notable because Larsson has become an outspoken critic of the Trump administration and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Why Sexyy Red's Trump Past Came Up

The controversy traces back to comments Sexyy Red made in 2023.

During an October 2023 podcast appearance, the rapper said she liked Trump and wanted him 'back in office'. She also claimed Trump's popularity had grown 'in the hood', pointing to policies she believed had benefited people there. Her performances later incorporated 'Make America Sexyy Again', a play on Trump's 'Make America Great Again' slogan, including a giant red hat carrying the phrase.

But Sexyy Red's political position did not remain that straightforward. By June 2024, she pushed back against assumptions that she had formally endorsed Trump, saying she was not endorsing any presidential candidate.

Then, days before the November 2024 election, she publicly backed Trump's Democratic opponent. Sexyy Red posted on 1 November that she had voted for Kamala Harris and included the hashtag '#Kamala4President'.

Her political timeline includes highly publicised praise for Trump followed by explicit support for Harris.

Zara Larsson Took A Very Different Position

Larsson's own political statements became particularly relevant in 2026. Earlier this year, she publicly expressed support for immigrants, transgender people, abortion rights, queer people, welfare and socialism while declaring that she hated ICE.

The divide became even more visible in September when the Trump White House used Larsson's 'Midnight Sun' over footage involving ICE arrests and deportations. The video carried the message 'Never-ending deportations'. Larsson condemned the use of her song, describing the video as 'dehumanizing' and expressing sympathy for the people shown in the footage.

Against that backdrop, Sexyy Red appearing alongside her only days later caught the attention of some users on X.

X Users Question the Collaboration

One X user responded to footage of the performance by questioning whether Larsson had forgotten Sexyy Red's political history. Another post similarly raised Sexyy Red's previous Trump comments while questioning the apparent contrast with Larsson's publicly stated politics.

Those individual reactions do not establish a widespread backlash among Larsson's fanbase, but they show how the collaboration became part of an online political discussion almost immediately.

Calling Sexyy Red simply a current MAGA or Trump-supporting artist would also omit important context. She praised Trump in 2023, later rejected assumptions that she had formally endorsed him, and ultimately backed Harris in 2024.

There is likewise no evidence that Larsson bringing Sexyy Red onstage represented an endorsement of any of the rapper's previous political statements. The controversy instead centres on a perceived inconsistency raised by some social media users.

In 2023, Sexyy Red praised Trump. In 2024, she backed Harris. In 2026, Larsson became an outspoken critic of Trump's immigration policies.

Their unexpected Los Angeles performance has now brought those contrasting political moments back into the same conversation.