Sabrina Carpenter says she was surprised at the reaction to the cover of her new album, Man’s Best Friend. Photo / Instagram / @sabrinacarpenter
The Manchild singer, who released her seventh album Man’s Best Friend last month, insisted she has often felt forced to find “humour” in more difficult moments.
She said: “Part of life is making light of moments that maybe make us uncomfortable, or at least, that is for me.
“My whole life I felt like humour was just this, and it wasn’t even always humour, I think it was usually just sort of a wit that kind of saved me.
“It was always there to make sure that at the end of the day I was protecting myself for the future.”
Carpenter’s latest album featured a picture of her on all fours standing close to a man who is pulling her hair, and she recently admitted she didn’t expect so many people to be offended by the raunchy shot.
During an interview on NPR, she said: “I was surprised. I think mostly because when I thought about making this album cover, I was really inspired by a man sort of delicately playing with my hair.
“Because I think there were a lot of metaphors between this dog and me emotionally. You know, a man’s best friend and sort of all the implications that comes with it, the power in dominance and submission.
“When I saw it, obviously for me, it checked all the boxes in between my friends and family. It just felt like what the music sounds like.”