Sabrina Carpenter has been catching heat for her steamy, over-the-top promotional stunts for her upcoming album Man’s Best Friend, but now throwback photos showing a totally different side are going viral.
Over the past few weeks, the 26-year-old pop star has faced backlash for provocative album art and campaign shots, including one image of her on all fours, seemingly being pulled by the hair by a man.
Fans and critics couldn’t decide if it was a daring feminist statement or just aimed at the male gaze.
The controversy followed her raunchy Short and Sweet tour, where Carpenter shocked audiences with an array of X-rated poses.
But those raunchy, skin-baring moments quickly faded from memory as two throwback red carpet snaps resurfaced, showing a Sabrina Carpenter that fans barely recognized.
Draped in oversized hoodies, she looked grunge, casual, and completely unbothered—a far cry from the sultry, pin-up bombshell persona she’s been flaunting for Man’s Best Friend.
Sabrina Carpenter has been catching heat for her steamy, over-the-top promotional stunts for her upcoming album Man’s Best Friend, but now throwback photos showing a totally different side are going viral; (seen in 2018)
Draped in oversized hoodies, she looked grunge, casual, and completely unbothered—a far cry from the sultry, pin-up bombshell persona she’s been flaunting for Man’s Best Friend; (seen in 2018)
Her hair was completely different too—long, straight, and low-key, a total departure from the 50s curls she’s been rocking lately.
Add in the thigh-high boots, and fans couldn’t help but compare her to Ariana Grande, cementing the full grunge-to-glam transformation.
Fans even started sharing clips of Grande in outfits strikingly similar to Sabrina’s, including concert moments.
One wrote, ‘Sabrina’s been taking notes.’
The viral snaps come after Sabrina’s original album cover for Man’s Best Friend was called out by a leading domestic violence charity who accused her of ‘reducing women to pets’ in addition to various online commentators.
The throwback snaps come amid ongoing controversy over Sabrina’s Man’s Best Friend album covers.
Her original cover was slammed by a leading domestic violence charity, accusing her of ‘reducing women to pets,’ along with criticism from various online commentators.
In response, Carpenter released an alternative cover ‘approved by God’—a black-and-white image of her holding onto a handsome man’s arm in a crowded room.
Fans and critics debated whether her looks were a bold feminist statement or just pandering to the male gaze
The controversy followed her raunchy Short and Sweet tour, where Carpenter shocked audiences with an array of X-rated poses
Last month, she dropped a third cover, showing herself surrounded by roses, clad in black lingerie and a sheer nightgown.
Fans worried about the fate of the original cover can rest easy—it’s still available.
It’s far from the first time Sabrina has sparked debate over her embrace of sexuality.
On her Short n’ Sweet Tour, the Espresso singer famously simulates sex positions while performing Juno, though not everyone is a fan of the NSFW displays.
‘It’s always so funny to me when people complain,’ she told Rolling Stone about the raunchy moments on stage. ‘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.’
In a follow-up phone call with the magazine, she added: ‘I don’t want to be pessimistic, but I truly feel like I’ve never lived in a time where women have been picked apart more, and scrutinized in every capacity.
Add in the thigh-high boots, and fans couldn’t help but compare her to Ariana Grande, cementing the full grunge-to-glam transformation; (Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande in 2018)
‘I’m not just talking about me. I’m talking about every female artist that is making art right now.’
Her seventh studio album, Man’s Best Friend, is set to release nearly a year after her previous chart-topping project, Short n’ Sweet, which came out last August.
All three singles from Short n’ Sweet — Espresso, Please Please Please, and Taste — achieved the rare feat of entering Spotify’s Billion Streams Club.
The album sold 10 million copies worldwide and earned Carpenter six Grammy nominations as a first-time nominee.
She won two awards: Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance for Espresso.