Sabrina Carpenter celebrated another album release with the arrival of Man’s Best Friend—and defended its controversial cover.
The project arrived on Friday with a cover that sees the singer kneeling on the ground while a man grabs a bunch of her hair in his fist.
The album artwork, first revealed back in June, stirred a bit of controversy. In addition to pushback from fans, Glasgow Women’s Aid, an organization that provides services to those affected by domestic violence, criticized the art for perpetuating “misogynistic stereotypes” and “pandering to the male gaze.”
Speaking on the project, Carpenter told CBS Mornings’ Gayle King that the cover “wasn’t even a conversation” among her family and friends, and that her parents “loved” the photo when they saw it.
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“Y’all need to get out more, I think,” the 26-year-old told King. “I was actually shocked because between me, my friends, family, and the people I always share my music and 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.”
“Everything about it to me just felt like so opposite of like the world ending,” she continued. “At that point [when the photo came out, people] hadn’t heard the project. They don’t know me, they don’t know my intentions. They don’t know the stories I’m telling.”
“I try to take it with a grain of salt and also know that my fans that know me, and know the person behind the music, look at that photo and they know exactly what it is. And people that don’t know who I am absolutely look at that photo and go, like, ‘Where are her parents?’… My parents actually saw the photo and they loved it!”
Man’s Best Friend marks Carpenter’s seventh studio offering and follows her No. 1 album, 2024’s Short n’ Sweet. King acknowledged the project’s provocative content, applauding Carpenter for lyrics that left some people “clutching their pearls.”
Man’s Best Friend is now on available to stream on all major streaming platforms, and fans can purchase physical copies on Complex. In support of the album release, Complex is launching the Man’s Best Friend pop-up experience in Los Angeles and New York City.
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