Inside the meaning of Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Man’s Best Friend’ album cover

Sabrina Carpenter is opening up about the contentious cover art of her Man's Best Friend album.

The Espresso singer, who recently debuted her seventh studio album, spoke with Gayle King on the latter's CBS Mornings. During the segment, she opened up about her new music, songwriting, and the backlash she was subjected to after the original album cover was unveiled.

For context, the art in question featured the Grammy-winning pop princess down on all fours, clad in a black dress and high heels, by a man's feet while he clutched a tuft of her hair. Sabrina Carpenter shared the image on June 11, and not long after, social media ripped the art apart.

“To me, it’s so up to interpretation. My interpretation is being in on the control — being in on your lack of control and when you want to be in control. I think as a young woman, you’re just as aware of when you’re in control as when you’re not," Sabrina Carpenter told King. "I think some of those are choices, and I think for me this whole album was about the humanity of allowing yourself to make those mistakes — knowing when you’re putting yourself in a situation that will probably end up poorly, but it’s gonna teach you something. So, there’s a lot of different meanings.”

Sabrina Carpenter has a snarky comment for her trolls as she says her parents loved the original cover art of Man's Best Friend:

During her interview with Gayle King, Sabrina Carpenter also called on all her trolls to get some exposure:

“Y’all need to get out more, I think,” she told Gayle King. “Between me and my friends and my family and the people that I always share my music and my art with first, it just wasn’t even a conversation… It was just, like, it’s perfect for what the album is, and what it represents.”

She also pointed out that everything about the cover was the "opposite of the world ending.” As for the criticism she faced, she said it was simply "pointing fingers" without understanding her art.

“My parents actually loved the photo and they loved it,” she said.

Sabrina Carpenter debuted her latest album on Friday, and it features tracks like “My Man on Willpower,” “Sugar Talking,” and “When Did You Get Hot?” The album comes on the heels of her 2024 massive hit project, Short 'n Sweet.

During a recent Spotify event in Los Angeles, the singer-songwriter also reflected on the making of her 12-song album, which includes Manchild, the lead single, and her first No. 1 debut in the nation:

“This creative process was all about sort of embracing spontaneity, all about embracing impulses that I was having and experiences that I was having that were really urgent to write about,” she said. “Knowing that if I didn’t make this album, and have it represent the chapter of my life that it represents, that it would have turned into something else… and I think that would have done it disservice to this album. So I’m really grateful that I just get to write music I love and put it out, and I’m more grateful to you guys for listening to it and letting me.”

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