Rina Sawayama Calls Out Cultural Insensitivity of Sabrina Carpenter’s SNL Performance

Though she sent “big love” to the singer, Rina Sawayama wasn’t too pleased with a certain cultural detail in Sabrina Carpenter’s SNL performance of “Nobody’s Son.”

Rina Sawayama wasn’t too thrilled with a particular detail in one of Sabrina Carpenter’s Saturday Night Live performances.

Just a day after Carpenter performed double duty as a host and musical guest, where she performed two tracks from her Man’s Best Friend album, the Japanese-British singer took to her Instagram account to call her fellow pop star — or, more specifically, her “creative team” — out for some cultural insensitivity. 

During a martial arts-inspired set for the song “Nobody’s Son,” which featured the backdrop of a Japanese dojo and gi-clad stunt performers, Carpenter sported a sequined, mini white gi and a sparkly black belt as she belted out her latest hit. But there was one minuscule — and unforgivable — detail that caught the eye of Sawayama.

“Big love to Sabrina,” the “This Hell” singer said in her Sunday Instagram Stories post, adding a heart emoji. “But fellow artists creative teams … If we are clearly referencing a culture please can you do so with the research, respect and care it deserves.”

“Shoes on tatami is jail,” she added along with the crying face emoji. 

For those not well-versed in Japanese cultural etiquette, tatami are the traditional, woven straw mats found in dojos and homes. Wearing street shoes on them is a fundamental no-no, and Sawayama, rightfully so, let her 1 million followers know. 

The tatami callout is just another headache for Carpenter, who had already been dealing with a separate controversy from the same night. During the same performance, the lyric “He sure f—ed me up” repeated twice during the bridge and it was loud and clear. According to Entertainment Weekly, the two F-bombs apparently aired unbleeped in select time zones, leaving many viewers shocked and stunned.

Controversy aside, it was overall a pleasant night for Carpenter’s first time hosting SNL.

Even though she rushed a bit through her monologue and all of her sketches, the “Manchild” singer proved her versatility and acting chops over and over again, taking on the role of both a 12-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl, as well as an office worker, an inadvertently X-rated entrepreneur, and even a washing machine.

Check out our full recap below: