“Manchild” singer Sabrina Carpenter revealed alternative artwork for her upcoming album after facing backlash on the original cover.
Early artwork for Carpenter’s “Best Friend” scheduled to be released in August featured a photo of Carpenter kneeling in front of a man holding his hair. Carpenter made his image debut on social media earlier this month, and announced that “Man’s Best Friend” could be pre-ordered.
Sabrina Carpenter will be taking part in the 2024 Time 100 upcoming event held at the Chelsea Piers on October 9, 2024 in New York City. (thestewartofny/filmmagic)
On social media, some fans said the image was mean, while others claimed it was satirical.
“We’ll be having a conversation with our nine-year-old daughter about whether we can continue to support Sabrina’s music,” one follower wrote on Instagram. “The girls already have enough misogynistic images to fight these days.”
“This is not satire, it’s not empowering women. You missed the mark with so many puss,” another wrote.
However, Carpenter had many defenders. The photos claimed to be “tamed” “compared to everything else on the internet”, but some call it “symbolic.”
Carly Simon also came to Carpenter’s defense and told Rolling Stone that he didn’t think “nothing’ was wrong” in the artwork, except that the carpenter touched the man’s feet. “She didn’t think she needed to do that,” “You’re so useless,” the singer said.
“So look at everyone who wears less and less clothes,” Simon told the outlet. “She’s so beautiful, she should be proud of herself and her appearance.”
Entertaining in Wednesday’s controversy, Carpenter announced the release of an alternative album artwork on social media.
“Here is a new, God-approved alternative cover available on my website.” She wrote. The post included two black and white photos that appeared to be inspired by images of Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller.
The album features an alternative cover, and is currently available for pre-order on the Carpenter website, along with a standard copy of “Man’s Best Friend” and a standard copy of the more controversial cover art.
Meanwhile, both covers are eligible for the new Grammy Awards category to honor Best Album Covers, ironically unveiling the day after Carpenter revealed his standard “Best Friends of Man” artwork earlier this month.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
