Um, Sabrina Carpenter says *that* racy album cover was a total accident

Let the album cover for Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend be a lesson for us all: nothing is ever as it seems.

Months after receiving major backlash for the cheeky artwork, Sabrina is finally giving us the real story behind the photo, and it turns out the most controversial part wasn’t even intentional.

In case you need a refresher, the cover features Sabrina on her hands and knees as a man stands above her, appearing to pull her hair. The photo quickly set the internet ablaze, with people calling it “misogynist fantasy” and others praising it as bold and provocative satire.

But in a new interview with Apple Music, Carpenter revealed that what looked like a hair yank was actually a mistake: “I wanted a man playing with my hair and I actually used maybe five different men to take that photo because none of them could play with my hair. They were all pulling it … the grip looked like they were yanking it.”

Credit: Instagram/@sabrinacarpenter

The singer says her vision was always more lighthearted than people assumed. She wanted the cover to reflect irony and intimacy, not submission.

“The whole purpose of the photo was to be cheeky and airy and playful,” she explained. “Like, ‘I got myself here, here I am.’ This is someone I love, but also someone who emotionally could be doing a lot with my heart and emotions.”

Her friends and family thought the image was perfect, so when the backlash hit, Carpenter knew it was because of the missing context: “There was no shift in the universe. It was a very normal day.”

Most Read

JK Rowling crashes out in long rant as Harry Potter director blames her for lack of reunion

‘An outright violation’: Health clinic releases statement after ‘unethical’ staff TikTok

Exactly how Netflix managed to persuade Kendra Licari to be in a show about her own crimes

Still, the uproar highlighted a generational divide.

“There is a generation that gets offended by some of the things I do,” she told Lowe. “They’ve raised kids, popped out babies, had sex many times, and I’m just like, ‘So I’m not allowed to have sex but you are?'”

Despite the misunderstanding, Carpenter stands by the artwork. She says the final shot captured the perfect lighting and expression of control, even if the hand positioning was an accident.

Love it or hate it, the Man’s Best Friend cover proves one thing: sometimes the boldest controversies start with the smallest mistakes.

For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.

Featured image credit: Instagram/@Sabrina Carpenter