Sabrina Carpenter’s A Nonsense Christmas special is just really, really cringe

A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter has dropped on Netflix. If you thought Sabrina Carpenter covering boring Christmas songs and taking part in deeply unfunny sketches might make for a long hour… you were right! Here’s a rundown of why you’d be better off skipping the Sabrina Carpenter special and cracking open the prosecco instead.

The Chappell Roan cameo could have been so much better

LAST CHRISTMAS WITH SABRINA CARPENTER & CHAPPELL ROAN #ANonsenseChristmas pic.twitter.com/qHRzb9vsnm

— Netflix (@netflix) December 7, 2024

I was so hyped to witness Chappell Roan singing a duet with Sabrina Carpenter. This is pop girly history in the making, right? But instead of serving up a really c*nty mashup of their best songs, or a great new take on something Christmasy, they sang one of the most overplayed songs of all time in the exact same way as everyone else has.

behind the scenes clip of chapppell roan & sabrina carpenter on set for ‘a nonsense christmas’!

sabrina: you look so beautiful!
chappell: i look so… straight.. pic.twitter.com/ag1FRnOrV2

— chappell roan daily (@dailyroan) December 7, 2024

There’s a behind-the-scenes clip of Sabrina gushing, “you look so beautiful!” And Chappell replies completely deadpan, “I look so… straight.” So true. Even Chappell Roan sounds over Chappell Roan here. I did not expect Sabrina Carpenter to make Chappell Roan straighter, yet here we are.

People on Reddit are theorising that this performance felt a bit clunky because the whole show was filmed over two days, and there were several takes of each song. So maybe some of the vibes were lost between edits?

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byu/Sisiwakanamaru from discussion
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The humour was just a bit cringe

This did not make me ‘ho, ho, ho’.
(Image via Netflix)

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Maybe I’m too British to find this funny. But the musical numbers are broken up by SNL-style skits, and it’s a truth universally acknowledged that nobody has laughed at an SNL skit in at least 11 years. Omg, Sabrina Carpenter has a new boyfriend but he’s Santa Claus but she’s in denial about it! Hilarious! (Not.) I enjoyed seeing Nico Hiraga, Quinta Brunson and Cara Delevingne pop up, but I did not smile once in the weird sketch about Christmas ghosts and ghosting.

Saying, “Everyone with a music comedy holiday special does them with celebrity guests, and this is one of those!” doesn’t make me laugh, it just makes me question why I’m still watching six minutes in.

the sabrina carpenter holiday special was extremely embarrassing for her.. it was a shitty hour long SNL skit

— James (@JURYLEGEND) December 7, 2024

I also don’t get why a cringey Christmas special would be filled with Father Christmas to appeal to Sabrina Carpenter’s core fanbase of eight-year-olds, but also have loads of very explicit innuendos about coming down chimneys and filling stokcings and drinking warm glasses of milk and wrapping large packages.

the singing is great but god this sabrina carpenter holiday special is so unfunny

— Marth (@______marth) December 9, 2024

I don’t think Sabrina Carpenter “needs that Charles Dickens” because she’s got an essay due on A Christmas Carol, people. Pity the parents who stuck this on the TV to get their kids to shut up for an hour, and now have to explain why the hell Sabrina’s present at the end is vibrating.

sabrina carpenter’s attempt at holiday cheer is more cringe than cozy. 🎄💩 let’s be real, if you’re expecting heartwarming moments, pray harder. sometimes it’s better to skip the holiday flicks and binge-watch something less painful. #notmychristmasmovie #hotgarbage pic.twitter.com/YRLGDFjgdr

— Netflix_Terminology (@NetflixTerminal) December 8, 2024

None of the songs are new, guys

There’s a whole storyline about Sabrina coming up with new Christmas-themed Nonsense lyrics, and different celebs offering up lines. But this makes no sense at all, because in the end Sabrina sings A Nonsense Christmas exactly how it is on the old album. The only new lines are, “Well, here we are, my special at its ending / Love you all and thank you for attending / I can’t believe I kept it family friend-ling”.

Hopefully at least Sabrina enjoyed herself?
(Image via Netflix)

The music is half covers of very generic Christmas songs, and half tracks from Sabrina’s deeply weird 2023 Christmas-themed EP Fruitcake. Which I’m sure would be fine if you actually knew of Fruitcake’s existence and liked it. But I’ve spent over a year wondering why there’s a power ballad about a fictional love triangle between Sabrina Carpenter, some boy, and Cindy Lou Who. I’m still no closer to the answer.

I guess singing It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year with “nonsense” instead of “wonderful” is technically a new cover? And there is a short novelty wrap about not knowing what to get your brother-in-law for Christmas. But they’re not exactly instant number ones.

A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.