Sabrina Carpenter has responded to the ‘pearl clutching’ criticism of her new album cover which features the singer on all fours with a suit-wearing figure behind her, as well as defending her sexually provocative lyrics
Pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter has fired back at detractors of her forthcoming album Man’s Best Friend after they slammed the risqué nature of her lyrics and album artwork, branding her guilty of ‘exploiting the male gaze. ‘.
“It is not for the pearl clutchers. The album is not for any pearl clutchers no,” the 26 year old songstress declared to Gayle King on CBS Mornings. “But I also think that even pearl clutchers can listen to an album like that in their own solitude and find something that makes them smirk and chuckle to themselves”.
Sabrina acknowledged that her songwriting can be “really bold” and not necessarily something you’d “want to sing in front of other people.” Yet this was precisely the draw she believed would captivate audiences.
“It’s like it’s almost TMI,” Carpenter observed
“But I think about being at a concert with, you know, however many young women I see in the front row that are screaming at the top of their lungs with their best friends and you can go like, “Oh, we can all like sigh of relief, like, this is just fun and and that’s all it has to be. “‘”.
The two-time Grammy winner has also faced backlash for the provocative choreography she performs whilst singing her track Juno during her Short n’ Sweet Tour, alongside controversy surrounding the album’s cover image, which depicts Sabrina positioned on all fours whilst an anonymous suited figure grasps her hair. Glasgow’s Women’s Aid was among the critics, labelling the image as “regressive” , reports the Mirror.
They expressed their disapproval online, stating: “Picturing herself on all fours, with a man pulling her hair and calling it ‘Man’s Best Friend’ isn’t subversion. It’s a throwback to tired tropes that reduce women to pets, props, and possessions and promote an element of violence and control.”
Despite the backlash, fans have rallied around Sabrina, suggesting that the contentious image is a satirical commentary on how she is perceived.
One fan defended her on X, writing: “I’m seeing a lot of discourse about Sabrina Carpenter’s new album cover… for those of you who may lack critical thinking skills, the cover is clearly satirical with a deeper meaning, portraying how the public views her, believing she is just for the male gaze,”.
However, another fan disagreed, arguing: “Satire only works when it clearly exposes, exaggerates, or critiques the thing it’s referencing. Rn, Sabrina’s cover recreates sexist imagery without disrupting it, so it reads as compliance, not commentary.”
Regardless of the controversy, Sabrina’s career continues to flourish as Taylor Swift has revealed that they’ve collaborated on the title track of her forthcoming album, The Life of a Showgirl.
Announcing the news on August 11, Taylor disclosed that the track is the sole duet featured on the album, which includes several songs titled Cancelled and Ruin the Friendship that are widely speculated to reference Taylor’s former best mate Blake Lively.
Lively embroiled the 35 year old pop sensation in her acrimonious legal battle with her It Ends with Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni last year – who coincidentally had previously worked with Carpenter on the 2020 Disney+ musical drama Clouds.
However, whilst Lively may have had grievances with Baldoni, the Espresso sensation felt quite differently, having only praise for Justin during their collaboration.
“No one else could have made us also feel secure enough to give the performances that we did. [Plus] our editors and our cinematographer, like, I love the way the movie was shot,” Sabrina enthused to Access Hollywood .
“It looks so beautiful. It makes everything come to life. I mean, the score, everything is done so beautifully. He paid attention to everything. Nothing was left unattended and I think that that’s a hard thing to do.”
Blake had previously levelled accusations against the 41 year old director, alleging sexual harassment during production of his 2024 film It Ends With Us, whilst also claiming he orchestrated a vindictive smear campaign across social media and mainstream press following her takeover of his project.
In the midst of a bitter dispute both inside and outside the courtroom, Lively’s legal team is accused of trying to blackmail Taylor into publicly supporting Blake in the disagreement. They allegedly threatened to leak ten years’ worth of text messages unless she complied, according to claims made by Baldoni’s defence lawyer Bryan Freedman.
Lively and Baldoni are set to go head-to-head in Manhattan US District Court next March, but it seems the public has already thrown their support behind him.
In other news, Sabrina is due to take the stage at the fan-voted MTV Video Music Awards, which will be broadcast on September 7 on MTV and Paramount+. This year, the singer is in the running for an impressive eight awards, including video of the year (for Manchild), best pop artist, best pop (for Manchild), and best album.
