Sabrina Carpenter’s New Album: Misogynistic or Authentic?

Sabrina Carpenter’s new album, Man’s Best Friend, was an instant hit for new and longtime fans, but is the controversy surrounding the album cover accurate or a misinterpretation?

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Man’s Best Friend, Sabrina Carpenter’s brand new studio album debuted on August 29, instantly topped the UK Official Albums and the Billboard 200 charts. Her single “Tears” jumped to No.1 on Spotify Daily Top Songs, surpassing 43 million streams on Spotify after just a week and a half of its release. As a fan since Sabrina’s 2016 album Evolution, I believe that Man’s Best Friend is arguably her best album yet. Each song is jam-packed with double meanings and metaphors that reveal her struggles in a toxic relationship and her fleeting faith in genuine love. 

She sings that there’s “nobody’s son, not anyone, left for [her] to believe in,” revealing her deep desire to love and trust someone without being eventually let down. Although many of her songs speak to toxic exes and failed relationships, they remain upbeat, catchy, and relatable. Sabrina calls the album a “real party for heartbreak, a celebration of disappointment” because she keeps her songs sarcastically cheerful despite the bitterness of the lyrics. 

The album contains undertones of ABBA, Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift, making it a unique, relatable experience for listeners. My favorite songs on the album are Nobody’s Son and Sugar Talking, mellow songs with captivating vocals and melodies. Overall, every song on the album showcases Sabrina’s authenticity and musical talent. 

Despite the album’s undeniable success, Man’s Best Friend faced intense backlash for its controversial album cover, which depicts Sabrina posing as a dog before a faceless man. The cover became a hot topic overnight, with users on every social media platform calling it demeaning, misogynistic, and sexist while accusing Sabrina of using the male gaze to promote her music. Many believed it fed into unfair stereotypes, even saying it set the women’s rights movement back several years. However, these criticisms are misinterpretations of the messages she’s conveying through her sexuality. 

The cover symbolizes the fact that Sabrina and many other female pop stars must cater to those stereotypes to remain relevant to the public, especially in a time when women’s bodies face increasing objectification. Through her songs, Sabrina brings awareness to these issues and proves that she isn’t whom society and the media portray her to be. In fact, many of her lyrics judge and belittle men, telling them to “let an innocent woman be.” Sabrina uses her sexuality to empower other women in a fun and lighthearted way, something many influential female figures have failed to do.

Man’s Best Friend is easily one of the best albums of 2025, and there is no doubt it will be nominated for many Grammys this year as Sabrina’s most fun and complex album yet. The hidden meanings, symbolism, and heartbreak make the album fun, relatable, and genuine like nothing you’ve ever heard before. 

Emma McMullin ‘28