The Problem with Sabrina Carpenter

Empowerment, Degradation, and what this says about the United States' society

The annual MTV (now CBS?) Video Music Awards were hosted last night, and various artists were put head-to-head in several categories. While it’s 2020s artists like Doechii, Alex Warren, and BLACKPINK who took home wins, the vibe of the 2000s filled the night. Along with honorary awards to Mariah Carey and Ricky Martin were appearances by Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson. A 2000s extravaganza in 2025 had to put a spotlight on a girl with all-American attributes: Sabrina Carpenter.

Sabrina Carpenter won the award for album of the year for her record Short n’ Sweet. Others in the category included Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, and Lady Gaga. Sabrina had a big year, so it makes sense that she’d receive some recognition for it. That said, her win has a big political implication. Sabrina Carpenter has fallen victim to what I’m coining the Sydney Sweeney effect. Actress Sydney Sweeney gained her fame after years of playing complex female characters in shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, Everything Sucks, and Euphoria. Nowadays, Sydney Sweeney is a part of white supremacy propaganda, constantly sexualizes herself, and sells her bathwater online. It feels like she did a complete 180, and in a way, this happened to Sabrina Carpenter as well, in a way.

Similar to Sydney, Sabrina Carpenter’s songwriting style has had depth and facets of feminism in it. Sure, Sabrina talks about love and heartbreak; she is a popstar after all. The way she does it, though, is through lyrics about her father’s cheating, the value of friendship as equivalent to that of romantic dynamics, and more. Sabrina has caused a lot of controversy with the sexual nature of her last album. Her Netflix Christmas special was full of funny innuendos, all of which were clever and tasteful. Whenever she sang about sex, it was always on her terms. There’s nothing wrong with writing about intimacy, but this ruffled a lot of feathers. Along with the controversy of her lyrical content was the controversy of her skits and dancing during live shows. The infamous “have you ever tried this one?” positions and bed chem sequence made many leave the shows early. Many conservatives thought this was inappropriate behavior because she started her career as a Disney Channel starlet. Mind you, Sabrina is a grown woman of 26 years and has never shied away from these topics to begin with.

She just released her album Man’s Best Friend on August 29th. The cover art of her on all fours, along with the title, led many to deduce that she was playing the dog in that scenario- those men walk her like a dog. Below is the album cover and back for your reference.

On top of it being just not a good cover, it’s also quite a regressive look. We know Sabrina is inspired by all things ‘50s and retro. This cover, though, links political and sociological ideologies rather than aesthetics, and that’s a tricky line to walk. Where she was acting before as a liberated woman discussing topics like sexual pleasure in the same way men do, now she’s subjugated herself to appearing almost object-like. Many speculated this image would be expanded when the album actually came out, and we’d see Sabrina holding herself. However, this was not the case. Well, maybe the explanation lies in the lyrical content. Maybe this is an ironic cover?

“Why so sexy if so dumb?

And how survive the Earth that long?”

While she’s still throwing jabs at men’s stupidity, she’s doing so in childlike wording. “I didn’t make it past the third grade” wording. It feels like this entire project is her trying to appeal to her original fanbase, which this project alienated a bit, and more traditional fans. It all comes across as a lukewarm attempt at wide pandering. But Sabrina didn’t win for this record; she won for Short n’ Sweet, which was miles more mature and sonically interesting.

I’ll be the first to admit that Short n’ Sweet was one of my favorite albums of the last year, but when it’s winning over Kendrick Lamar’s incredibly written call-outs on racism, the math isn’t mathing. Whether intentional or not, I believe this album's win was a way of turning a blind eye. We can’t pick Morgan Wallen, who was also nominated, because he says the N-word with no problem and hits people at bars -that’s going to cause some serious backlash. We can’t pick Bad Bunny’s homagic album to his homeland about colonialism - that’s going to anger our investors. Let’s pick the sexy blonde girl who makes reference to Lolita in this time of all-American propaganda. Despite it all, I do have tickets to see her because I couldn’t make it to her last tour, but this album is making me reconsider things. I could be considered part of the problem. I don’t think this is Sabrina’s fault, but it definitely sends a message of where we lie as a society, wanting change but unwilling to make it. This message was a clear one, sitting in a little corset and sipping an espresso martini.

Shoutout to my friend Sammie who requested I write about this! I hope I did your request some justice lol. Follow Dani Is Dizzy for all things pop culture, music, and Nueva York living. As always, my socials are down below:

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-Daniela Torres