“Approved by God” — Sabrina Carpenter unveils new ‘Man’s Best Friend’ cover after backlash over original artwork

Sabrina Carpenter has dropped the new album cover artwork for her upcoming album, Man's Best Friend. The reimagined album cover comes in the wake of the intense scrutiny the artist was subjected to and shows Sabrina holding on to a sharply dressed man's arm even as she shifts her gaze away from the focus. As opposed to the earlier artwork, the new cover comes in a monochrome form and was accompanied by a cheeky caption which read:

"I signed some copies of Man's Best Friend for you guys & here is a new alternate cover approved by God available now on my website"

The new artwork has caused a stir on social media, especially since the last one had become an object of controversy over its perceived sexual nature. The last poster featured Sabrina Carpenter's hair being held by a truncated figure whose face was not revealed in the photo. This led to a multitude of labels being attached to the album cover, such as "provocative" and "anti-feminist."

Fan reactions to Sabrina Carpenter's God-Approved Album

Another interesting thing that fans have been able to pick up on is the sassy caption that was accompanied by the new poster, which has been interpreted in some circles as a slight by Sabrina herself on her detractors. While Sabrina Carpenter has chosen not to address the backlash directly, the new album cover has been construed by some as a sign of defiance on the singer's part.

Not everyone shares this opinion, though. Others have been quick to commend Sabrina on how she managed to diffuse the situation and how she managed to keep the album firmly in the public conversation.

Sabrina Carpenter did, however, give a strongly worded reply to the critics who have been quick to criticize her in the past. As she rolled with the punches in the Rolling Stone interview, which was done after the announcement of her upcoming album was made, she said:

“It’s always so funny to me when people complain. They’re like, ‘All she does is sing about this.’ But those are the songs that you’ve made popular. 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.”

She then went on to add:

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“It truly feel[s] like I’ve never lived in a time where women have been picked apart more and scrutinized in every capacity. We’re in such a weird time where you would think it’s girl power, and women supporting women, but in reality, the second you see a picture of someone wearing a dress on a carpet, you have to say everything mean about it in the first 30 seconds that you see it.”

The lead song (Manchild) from Sabrina Carpenter's upcoming album has already been released and has been received favorably by fans. The first poster had faced considerable backlash at the time it was released and had threatened to derail the launch of Man's Best Friend, but now the conversation has shifted dramatically after the release of the alternate cover.

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