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Sabrina Carpenter facing criticism for latest album cover art

The singer and musician has received flack for her upcoming album artwork. Titled ‘Man’s Best Friend,’ the image shows her hair being pulled while she kneels on the ground.

Sabrina Carpenter is set to release her new album ‘Man’s Best Friend’ on August 29th 2025.

As part of her promotional rollout, she has shared the cover artwork on Instagram this week. It shows Sabrina on the floor, on her knees, while a figure off-camera pulls at her hair. The image has obvious sexual connotations, much in line with her branding and recent stunts on tour.

The backlash has been widespread and immediate. A quick flick through her Instagram comments reveals a flood of disappointed fans and outraged onlookers. ‘Sabrina this is not the slay you think it is,’ says one user.

Another wrote, ‘why is the man in there like that? This is not a very empowering image for women. I think it’s a mistake since most [of] her fans are women. As a [domestic violence] survivor I find it uncomfortable. I don’t want to be negative […] maybe it’s just me.’

Credit: @sabrinacarpenter

The negative reception extends to other platforms too. One poster on Reddit said, ‘she’s not beating the “catering to the male gaze” allegations, what are we doing here?’ An additional, somewhat succinct commenter responded with, ‘girl – stand up!’

Some have expressed that they feel the cover is tone deaf given the current climate, especially in the US where abortion rights are being rolled back and equality is increasingly under threat.

In an age of growing conservatism and a global resurgence in right-wing values, fans are arguing that this does little to help empower women at a time when it is deemed vital to do so.

The album artwork reveal coincides with a Rolling Stone magazine cover. Reaction to the photos has also been divided, with fans pointing out that the images are very clearly Photoshopped.

Credit: @sabrinacarpenter

‘[I] love Sabrina but aren’t we trying to stop the over sexualising of women?,’ wrote one user. ‘I’m surprised people are so outraged over the “nudity” and not the extreme Photoshopping to make her look absurdly thin,’ said another.

However, not all of the chatter has been outrage. Many fans argue that the artistic choice to pose in this way is Sabrina’s call to make, and isn’t necessarily tied to sexuality. To associate the two and assume they are one of the same is unfair and prudish, they say.

‘She’s gorgeous,’ writes an Instagram viewer. ‘I don’t know what’s up with the rise in conservatism but I thought we were above shaming women for artistic nudity.’ Similarly, a commenter wrote, ‘God forbid a woman wants to show a bit of skin.’

This narrative extends to her album cover and its imagery. An article by Helen Coffey of The Independent describes Sabrina’s branding as intentional and self-aware, and any moral outrage is largely misplaced.

‘Carpenter sports the dumb blonde stereotype simply to dismantle it,’ Helen writes. ‘Behind the overblown coiffure lies a razor-sharp wit and knack for comedy – and she’s always in on the joke.

‘Anyone who is truly offended by her relatively vanilla album cover needs to get a little bit of perspective.’

Ultimately, any publicity for Sabrina’s upcoming album is likely to do wonders for sales and audience engagement.

The music industry has a lengthy history of using shock and controversy for monetary value, and it wouldn’t be the wildest take to assume some of the backlash this week has been by design.

Cynicism aside, it’ll be interesting to see how Sabrina responds, if at all. She’s known for risqué live performances with suggestive sexual positions on stage and the cover for ‘Man’s Best Friend’ is not exactly off-brand.

Sabrina Carpenter's new album cover not being received well online
byu/Classic-Carpet7609 inFauxmoi

We also haven’t heard many of the songs from the new release yet, either. The cover itself may be an ironic statement given the context of the project’s lyrical content – though it’s impossible to say right now. Judging off Sabrina’s usual approach, it’s likely to that this is the case. Men literally die in most of her music videos, after all.

We’ll need to give the full album a spin in late August before reaching any conclusions.

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