The outrage over Sabrina Carpenter’s album cover has sparked feminist debates but turns out she had no other option, thanks to the men involved.
Man’s Best Friend, her seventh studio album, featured the Tears singer on all fours with a man grabbing her hair.
Discussions over whether it was subversive or misogynistic raged on as Sabrina’s intentions and implications were dissected.
But now, the 26-year-old singer has revealed she simply had no other option as the male models didn’t know how to play with her hair.
‘It’s so funny thinking about it now,’ she said on Apple Music’s Zane Lowe Show. ‘Because I wanted a man playing with my hair and I actually used maybe five different men to take that photo because none of them could play with my hair.
‘They were all pulling it. They were all nervous to be holding my hair.’
So, the controversial pose came about because the men couldn’t perform how she needed them to — no wonder she keeps killing them in music videos.
Sabrina continued: ‘So the grip looked like they were yanking it, and the whole purpose of the photo was supposed to be cheeky and airy and playful of like, I got myself here, here I am, this is someone I love but also someone that emotionally can be doing a lot with my heart and doing a lot with my emotions.’
The final chosen photo was ‘so special’ as it was the ‘only shot’ on film that had every aspect perfectly lined up.
‘[It] had that lighting the way that I wanted it with this facial expression where I’m clearly in control even though I’m on all fours,’ Sabrina shared. ‘And to me it was just perfect.’
Man’s Best Friend, which Metro gave four stars, immediately stormed the charts, taking the top spot on the Official Album Chart.
Tears, My Man On Willpower, and Sugar Talking also appeared in the Top 10 UK singles chart, proving that the disapproval didn’t stop album streams.
The backlash was anticipated, although possibly bigger than the Espresso singer had expected, having already been navigating backlash to her sexy performances.
She reasoned that the fact that the Man’s Best Friend cover was first shared without the context of the whole album may have exacerbated things.
She has said in multiple interviews that her family love the album cover, even if it is more provocative than others.
Sabrina continued: ‘There is a generation that gets offended by some of the things I do, and it’s a generation that has either young children or they’ve raised children and they’re just sort of looking at it from a different point in their life, sort of scolding and they all had sex many times because they popped a lot of kids out.
‘So I just think about that and I’m always just like, it’s so funny. I mean, we’re all just so judgmental.’
‘I’m not allowed to have sex, but you are,’ the Feather star added. ‘I’m also, not to be so self-aware, but I’m a pop star.’
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
