Why is everyone so angry about Sabrina Carpenter's new album cover?

Pop princess Sabrina Carpenter has divided fans and sparked civilized outrage aft revealing nan caller screen creation for her upcoming medium ‘Man’s Best Friend’. 

Depicting nan 26-year-old connected her hands and knees successful a achromatic minidress while a faceless suited fig grips her hair, fans person based on nan image perpetuates patriarchal values and degrades women by relating them to pets.

“This full point is truthful disturbing. Why are we proudly comparing ourselves to dogs,” wrote 1 commenter connected Carpenter’s Instagram post. 

“Love Sabrina - but this image - why is nan man successful location for illustration that? Its [sic] not a very empowering image for women. I deliberation its [sic] a correction since astir [of] her fans are women and arsenic a dv [domestic violence] subsister one find it uncomfortable and id [sic] alternatively spot her empowered than for illustration that,” said another. 

Responding connected Facebook, Glasgow Women's Aid, a Scotland-based home maltreatment charity, called nan album's artwork "regressive", adding: “Picturing herself connected each fours, pinch a man pulling her hairsbreadth and calling it ‘Man’s Best Friend’ isn’t subversion. It’s a throwback to tired tropes that trim women to pets, props, and possessions and beforehand an constituent of unit and control."

The heated responses besides bespeak a heightened anger and sensitivity astatine a clip erstwhile women’s authorities are being eroded by governments - and threatened by nan manosphere’s (a postulation of online spaces that promote misogyny) toxic taste influence.

“This screams trad woman astatine a clip erstwhile galore of america are fighting for bodily autonomy. It’s truthful poorly aligned pinch this governmental infinitesimal that it’s either intentional trolling aliases conscionable blatantly retired of touch. Either is not good correct now,” 1 instrumentality said. 

Meanwhile, others person countered nan sermon pinch reminders that Carpenter has ever owned her sexuality by playing pinch antheral fantasies - and that extracurricular of nan album’s wider context, we still don’t cognize its existent meaning. 

“I’m seeing a batch of sermon astir Sabrina Carpenter’s caller medium cover… for those of you who whitethorn deficiency captious reasoning skills, nan screen is intelligibly satirical pinch a deeper meaning, portraying really nan nationalist views her, believing she is conscionable for nan antheral gaze,” a consequence sounds connected X. 

Following her mainstream breakthrough past year, pinch frothy earworm Espresso nan most-streamed track connected Spotify successful 2024, Carpenter has go 1 of pop’s biggest superstars. Known for her tongue-in-cheek playfulness and provocative performances, she sparked immoderate contention past twelvemonth aft filming a saucy euphony video wrong a church, for which nan leader that authorised it was stripped of his duties.  

While activity has ever been an intrinsic portion of Carpenter’s image and appeal, it's astir often utilised for satire and innuendo. In a caller Rolling Stone interview, nan vocalist further defended this, saying: “It’s ever truthful funny to maine erstwhile group complain. They’re like, ‘All she does is singing astir this.’ But those are nan songs that you’ve made popular. Clearly you emotion sex. You’re obsessed pinch it.” 

Still, contempt those that bemoan Carpenter's ongoing backlash arsenic overblown, lacking nuance and missing nan constituent of her hypersexualised and kink-coded brand, contentious discussions proceed connected nan blurred lines betwixt reclamation and regression.   

“Satire only useful erstwhile it intelligibly exposes, exaggerates, aliases critiques nan point it’s referencing. Rn, Sabrina’s screen recreates sexist imagery without disrupting it, truthful it sounds arsenic compliance, not commentary,” 1 instrumentality said.   

Earlier this month, nan vocalist performed astatine Barcelona's Primavera show for nan first time, and released ‘Manchild’ - nan lead azygous from her upcoming seventh workplace album, group for merchandise connected 29 August 2025.