‘This is not feminism, this is not empowering’: Sabrina Carpenter faces ire of fans as ‘degrading’ album cover fails to win

There are upsides to being a pop star — money, fame, millions of adoring fans, maybe even free meals at your favorite restaurant. But the plight has always been a severe case of being misunderstood. Some moan about that fact, and some — like Sabrina Carpenter — count on it.

Carpenter is fresh off the success of her two-time Grammy-winning album Short n’ Sweet and spicy tour, and she’s already announced the release date for her upcoming project Man’s Best Friend — put a pin in that title. Some fans have expressed surprise that an artist of her caliber is putting out another album so soon, especially after one of the biggest years of her career. But this is nothing new for the “Espresso” star — she’s been an album-a-year artist for almost a decade now. She’s clearly not planning to slow down anytime soon. The work ethic discussion quickly took a back seat once she revealed the album cover, though.

For some fans, however, the cover art of the new album was simply too outrageous for their taste. Remember the title? Man’s Best Friend appears to have two alternate covers — one features a dog on a leash wearing a pendant with the album’s title. The other, presumably the explicit version, shows a man out of frame holding Carpenter by the hair as she kneels.

Maybe this landed too soon after the Sydney Sweeney bathwater soap saga, but the first wave of responses was filled with rage and disappointment. One user declared, “This is not feminism, and this is not empowering,” while another expressed regret for having given Carpenter such a large platform, claiming they “made the wrong person famous.”

We made the wrong person famous.

She seems incapable of imagining a different aesthetic, this is all she does.

Even if framed as funny/satire for “shock value,” it’s neither subversive nor empowering. It repackages harmful overused tropes for controversy and profit. https://t.co/mOkTifAdXJ

— desus (@desus_xx) June 11, 2025

But that’s not to say the response was universal — some fans were down with the provocative cover. One even joked that Sabrina is in good company among the class of persecuted Carpenters. Others saw it as a metaphor. And some viewed the backlash itself as puritanical.

my “woke” opinion but everyone’s reaction to this is just more purity bs that was forced onto women hundreds of years ago cause you just cant believe that women are something other than “pure” and “innocent” https://t.co/9wrbrxajvP

— hannah! ᯓ★ (@loqicals) June 11, 2025

maybe this is a bad take but i fear we have "stop doing things for the male gaze"d ourselves back into expecting women to be modest and shaming them otherwise, and it's Strange https://t.co/dFKM8pz5oD

— grace (@savingrace0) June 11, 2025

You know who else was a much-persecuted Carpenter

— Brandon Streussnig (@BrndnStrssng) June 11, 2025

There’s a long history of album covers causing controversy. Pusha T’s Daytona infamously used a photo of Whitney Houston’s hotel bathroom at the height of her drug dependency. Even Beyoncé’s Renaissance cover was considered too revealing for some countries in the Middle East, which prompted a censored version featuring only the horse without Beyoncé atop it. So, these things do happen.

Sabrina Carpenter will be fine. This isn’t the first time she’s faced public criticism. And if her lead single is any indication, she may just be using this new project to address her past relationship with Barry Keoghan — with the themes and art direction potentially alluding to the specifics of their dynamic.

What this latest moment does raise, however, is the question of what we actually want in art. Do we still want work that challenges our notions and expectations? Or have we settled for being placated by versions of what we already know and love? It’s not up to us to tell you how to feel about the cover. Subjectivity in art is expected — encouraged, even.

Man’s Best Friend is scheduled to release on August 29.