Sabrina Carpenter has addressed criticism that her music and image are overly sexualised, insisting there's far more substance to her artistry than critics give her credit for.
The 26-year-old Grammy-winner recently divided opinion among her fans after unveiling the artwork for her next album, Man's Best Friend.
The provocative imagery sparked debates on sexuality, power, and representation in pop culture.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Carpenter argued that lyrics about sex make up only a small part of her artistic output and says the scrutiny placed on her is unfair.
"I don't want to be pessimistic, but I truly feel like I’ve never lived in a time where women have been picked apart more, and scrutinised in every capacity. I’m not just talking about me. I’m talking about every female artist that is making art right now."
During Carpenter's Short and Sweet tour, she famously strikes an array of X-rated poses as part of her Juno song routine.
The Espresso hitmaker highlights that the same audience criticising her is also fueling the popularity of her sexually explicit content.
"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. If you come to the show, you’ll [also] hear the ballads, you’ll hear the more introspective numbers," she added.
"I find irony and humour in all of that, because it seems to be a recurring theme. I'm not upset about it, other than I feel mad pressure to be funny sometimes."
Carpenter is set to release her seventh studio album, Man's Best Friend, on 29 August. The album's lead single, Manchild, was released on 5 June.
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