Following the release of her latest album, Man’s Best Friend, Sabrina Carpenter continues to address the mixed reactions to its cover art.
Unveiled in June, the cover features Carpenter in a provocative pose, dressed in black while a man, off-camera, grips her hair. This imagery has ignited discussions surrounding sex-positive feminism. In an interview with Interview Magazine published on Tuesday, Carpenter admitted, “the reaction [to the album cover] is fascinating to me.”
“If I’m being completely transparent, I don’t do anything anticipating what the reaction will be,” she reflected. “When I came up with the imaging for [Man’s Best Friend], it was so clear to me what it meant. So the reaction is fascinating to me. You just watch it unravel and go, ‘wow.’”
Understanding the Controversy
Editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg probed Carpenter further about her feelings towards the backlash, asking, “when there’s all this controversy and people are screaming about it, do you like it? Does it make you cry or giggle?”
Carpenter responded, “I guess a little bit of both. My experience and point of view are going to be so different from how other people live their lives. Sometimes I read things and I’m like, ‘wow, I don’t experience this that way, but if they do, then that’s real to them.’”
Personal Themes in the Album
Throughout her interview, Carpenter explained that Man’s Best Friend encapsulates her personal experiences with “loss and heartbreak and celebration and trying to navigate my life as a young woman.”
Addressing critiques that the cover gives her a submissive appearance, Carpenter clarified its intent, stating it is “merely a metaphor.”
“This is on a completely different subject, but I do feel like submission is both dominant and submissive,” she elaborated. “The image, the way I see it, is a metaphor, but I’m sure that other people are like ‘dang, she’s a sub.’”
Addressing the Backlash
Prior to the album’s launch, Carpenter responded lightly to the online criticism by releasing an alternative cover art. In a Friday segment with Gayle King on CBS Mornings, she notably remarked, “The album is not for any pearl clutchers.”
For more insights, check out The Hollywood Reporter’s track-by-track analysis of Man’s Best Friend.
