Former child star who successfully transitioned into a pop music sensation, Sabrina Carpenter, released a new album cover for her upcoming Man’s Best Friend album. This release followed the criticism she faced when its first cover, described to be dehumanizing and nonempowering to women, was released about two weeks prior.
Earlier this month, Carpenter took a lot of heat for the cover of her Man’s Best Friend. The controversial cover featured the pop star on all fours in a short black body-hugging dress. In front of her, stood a mysterious man holding on to some volume of her hair. She shared this cover through her Instagram page while announcing the release of the album on June 11, 2025. Due to this, she faced a lot of backlash and was immediately called out for objectifying and dehumanizing women. Many commenters compared her cover to an axed cover art for Smell the Glove from This is Spinal Tap. Others were concerned about how it could be represented to young girls. “This cover is so disappointing…You have girls following you!” one commenter said, “We need icons like you to do better!!”
In a cheeky response to the criticism she received, Carpenter on June 25, 2025, shared a new cover she tagged, “approved by God” on her Instagram. The new image is a black-and-white version of the singer holding on to a man while looking away from the camera. While some commenters on the new art joked about her sarcastic response to the backlash, others judged her for dismissing the criticism as moral panic, calling her tone-deaf and disrespectful.
“Clearly You Love Sex”: Sabrina Carpenter Fires Back At Parents Who Deem Her Show Inappropriate For Kids
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It turns out Carpenter has been shamed for sexually suggestive content before now. During her Short n’ Sweet tour, she was criticized for acting out sex positions on a stage that could have children as members of the audience. To this, she claimed they only recognized the sexually suggestive parts of her show because the public was obsessed with sex.
While Carpenter sang Juno, an indie-pop from her 2024 album Short n’ Sweet, she acted out some sexual positions changing it up every time. From her wardrobe to the horny choreography to ending a track on a heart-shaped bed, staging intercourse with a male dancer, it was easy for her audience to focus on the sexual nature of the tour. However, when parents and critics judged her stage performance, Carpenter said in an interview with Rolling Stone, that those sexual moments are the ones the audience has made popular. In her words:
“Clearly you love sex. You’re obsessed with it. It’s in my show. There’s so many more moments than the Juno’ positions, but those are the ones you post every night and comment on. I can’t control that.”
Man’s Best Friend will be out on August 29, 2025.
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