Back in 2023, Sabrina Carpenter made some enemies in the church when she filmed what the Diocese of Brooklyn called the “violent and sexually provocative” music video for “Feather” at the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in New York. In 2024, she pissed some more people off with her non-violent, but definitely sexually provocative performances of “Juno” and “Bed Chem.” Then, earlier this month, she appeared on the cover of her upcoming album Man’s Best Friend with her blonde hair gripped in a man’s hands. As you can imagine, that didn’t go over well with the meltdown crowd — so Carpenter released an outrage-proof alternate version.
“I signed some copies of Man’s Best Friend for you guys,” Carpenter wrote on social media. “Here is a new alternate cover approved by God. Available now on my website.”
On the alternate cover, the musician channels Hollywood starlet candidly captured by paparazzi. She stands in a beaded gown, hands braced against the arm of a man who stares off into the distance. The cheeky nod is the first time the musician has addressed the backlash to the original cover, which was also captured by Bryce Anderson. But she has spoken more broadly to the increasingly common criticism she receives that attempts to make her responsible for other people’s perception of her.
“It’s always so funny to me when people complain,” Carpenter told Rolling Stone in her recent cover story. “They’re like, ‘All she does is sing about this.’ But those are the songs that you’ve made popular. Clearly you love sex. You’re obsessed with it. It’s in my show. There’s so many more moments than the ‘Juno’ positions, but those are the ones you post every night and comment on. I can’t control that. If you come to the show, you’ll [also] hear the ballads, you’ll hear the more introspective numbers. I find irony and humor in all of that, because it seems to be a recurring theme. I’m not upset about it, other than I feel mad pressure to be funny sometimes.”
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Recently, Carly Simon came to Carpenter’s defense, telling Rolling Stone, “She’s not doing anything outrageous. It seems tame. There have been far flashier covers than hers. One of the most startling covers I’ve ever seen was [The Rolling Stones’] Sticky Fingers. That was out there in terms of sexual attitude. So I don’t know why she’s getting such flak.”
Either way, Carpenter is keeping her eyes locked forward. Man’s Best Friend will arrive on Aug. 29, just over a year after Short n’ Sweet. “If I really wanted to, I could have stretched out Short n’ Sweet much, much longer,” she told Rolling Stone. “But I’m at that point in my life where I’m like, ‘Wait a second, there’s no rules.’ If I’m inspired to write and make something new, I would rather do that. Why would I wait three years just for the sake of waiting three years? It’s all about what feels right. I’m learning to listen to that a lot more, instead of what is perceived as the right or wrong move.”
