"When Sabrina Carpenter dropped her newest single, Manchild, in early June, I never would have guessed that a new album would be announced just over a week later. After the mega-success of Short n’ Sweet, which brought her two Grammys (and brought us one of the best summer albums in years), I wouldn’t have blamed her for wanting to stay in that era for as long as possible. Instead, Sabrina got right back to work to write Man’s Best Friend for an August 29 release date. Naturally, my friends and I freaked and launched into discussions over what new tour visuals might look like and whether a Taylor Swift collab could be coming (a girl can dream, right?). What I did not expect, however, was the massive backlash around the album’s title and artwork.
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On the cover of Man’s Best Friend, Sabrina is on her knees while someone in a suit is gripping a chunk of her hair in their fist. Immediately after she posted this on Instagram, people took to the comments, accusing her of setting feminism back 50 years. People were quick to point out the connotation between her pose, the album title, and the fact that women are frequently referred to as “bitches.” But fans defended the imagery, calling it ironic instead. However, when Rolling Stone dropped the cover for their July/August 2025 issue, in which Sabrina is wearing nothing except a lacy pair of stockings, the discourse got even louder.
The question is: What angle is she going for? Satirical or submissive? And is now the time to make this kind of statement, when women’s rights are being stripped away at an alarming rate? My take might be an unpopular one, but I think Sabrina Carpenter and her team know exactly what they’re doing with this rollout.
Like it or not, the album cover is on brand
Sabrina Carpenter has been in the public eye for over a decade now, but it wasn’t until her 2022 album, emails i can’t send, that her career really took off. It was obvious even then that being sensual is part of Sabrina’s brand. Her personalized outros every time she sang Nonsense on tour ranged from cheeky to R-rated, and her visuals and choreography during songs like Bed Chem and Juno included falling into bed with a partner and miming different sex positions with her dancers. She’s built up an image of being in touch with her sexuality while also dissing men in her songs almost every chance she gets.
Manchild only continues that streak, making lyrical jabs like “Did you just say you’re finished? / Didn’t know we started” and saying “Hey, men!” to a couple of pigs in the accompanying music video. She’s given us all kinds of context clues already that should make it obvious the album cover is meant to be satirical, likely a commentary on how men treat women or what she experiences being a woman in the public eye. Given her songwriting history, I doubt Sabrina is seriously suggesting that women should be submissive (outside of a consensual kink, of course).
We can’t talk about the discourse without what’s driving it
This controversy stirs up a valid question, though: Is releasing an album with a young girl posing like a dog on the front, regardless of whether it’s satire, in poor taste given our current political climate? Our president and his administration continue to implement policies that harm women, from restricting access to reproductive care to cutting funding for women’s health research and much more. Not to mention that globally, at least one in every three women has experienced sexual violence. The shift we’re seeing in our country is bringing purity culture back with a vengeance, and it’s not a far leap to say that this is what’s driving so much of the discourse on both sides. What we need to be careful of is whether we’re bringing awareness to the very real degradation that some women face or just shaming her for being so open about her sexual preference.
“Sabrina is trying to make a powerful point: People can talk all they want, but she and other women can do whatever they want with their bodies.”
A lot of the public’s opinion boils down to a classic feminist debate: Is the sexual liberation of women truly liberating, or does it just objectify us further? Let’s compare Sabrina Carpenter to Sydney Sweeney, another blonde bombshell who’s facing controversy right now for selling soap bars made with her bathwater. You can’t deny that sex sells in the entertainment industry. Both women have made a killing by capitalizing on the way they’re perceived by men. But the difference is that up until now, Sabrina has been largely praised for using her sexuality to her advantage, while Sydney experiences the opposite.
Of course, it’s frustrating to see smart, successful women receive so much hate for their decisions, but both of them are still well within their rights to make them. Whatever your opinion is on either topic, you’re contributing to a necessary conversation. That being said, I do think Sabrina is trying to make a powerful point: People can talk all they want, but she and other women can do whatever they want with their bodies.
Media is supposed to get people talking, and it’s working
I will admit that the Rolling Stone cover shocked me at first. (My Instagram added an 18+ restriction and made me verify my account before I could see it.) But the longer I thought about it, the less shocking I found it. It’s not like a female singer has never posed naked before. The Chicks did it on the cover of Entertainment Weekly back in 2003, and Miley Cyrus swinging around in the nude for the Wrecking Ball music video was a complete 180 from her Hannah Montana days. These women were provocative on purpose, and Sabrina is, too.
Art and media should get people talking, and more than that, they are always up for interpretation. You’re allowed to not like the album cover. You’re allowed to like it and still have criticisms about what it implies. From a marketing standpoint, any attention is good attention, and we’re certainly giving it to her. But I think Sabrina put more thought behind these choices than simply what will bring her the most streams. Even though I don’t personally think it’s as scandalous as everyone is making it out to be, it’s still causing important, nuanced conversations, and I bet Sabrina knew that it would. As a matter of fact, I’d bet she has even more tricks up her sleeve for the rest of the album’s rollout, too. In my eyes, August 29 can’t get here fast enough.
Hannah Carapellotti, Contributing Writer
Hannah is an Ann Arbor-based writer with a bachelor’s in English and writing from the University of Michigan. Outside of The Everygirl, Hannah has written for The Michigan Daily, where she also served as an editor. She currently works at an independent bookstore and is interning for a literary agency.