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Sabrina Carpenter Shuts Down Troubling Fan Theory About Photo Shoot Inspiration

The singer is setting the record straight on a controversial photo taken in 2024.

Allie Hayes

Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter / Gilbert Flores/Variety/Getty Images

Sabrina Carpenter has found herself at the center of a couple of controversies this month, and now she’s speaking out to set the record straight.

In case you missed it, the 26-year-old pop sensation recently announced her new album will be titled “Man’s Best Friend,” and it’s slated to come out almost precisely one year after her Grammy-winning album Short n’ Sweet hit airwaves. However, heated conversations around the album’s message have been circulating online since the cover image was posted, which shows Carpenter on all fours with her hair being tugged by someone offscreen.

Some fans believe the cover is in bad taste, while others believe it’s all in good fun, but this latest discourse has also resulted in another controversial moment from her recent past reemerging—and the singer has officially commented on it.

Back in 2024, Carpenter did a photo shoot while appearing on the cover of W Magazine. Several images were included in the feature spread, which appeared to be aiming for a vintage-style-meets-modern-media aesthetic, given the colors and costuming. However, one shot in particular stood out to viewers and quickly caused concern among her fanbase.

The photo in question showed Carpenter lying down on her stomach in the grass wearing a light-colored mini dress, kicking her feet behind her as a nearby sprinkler soaked her completely through. For film buffs out there, this image immediately rang a bell, as it was a near-exact recreation of a shot from the 1997 film adaptation of the deeply controversial 1955 novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.

Lolita has been a controversial piece of literature since its release, as it recounts the disturbing story of an adult man who grooms and abuses a minor. With this context in mind, fans were disappointed to see Carpenter appear to reference the film adaptation, but the singer has now stated that was never the case or her intention.

On a TikTok video explaining the controversy around the photo this past weekend, Carpenter herself took to the comment section, writing, “I’ve never seen this movie. It’s never been on my mood board and never would be.”

And noted by Cosmopolitan, this isn’t the first time Carpenter has openly responded to fan backlash recently. The singer also responded to a tweet posted on Monday asking if she has “a personality outside of sex,” to which Carpenter responded, “girl yes and it is goooooood.”

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Allie Hayes
ALLIE HAYES

Allie Hayes is an experienced pop culture staff writer and editor specializing in movies, TV and celebrity news. Before joining the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit team as a Breaking/Trending News Editor, she worked at several outlets including BuzzFeed, The Daily Dot, and Newsweek. When she’s not writing for work (or writing for fun), you’ll find her curled up on the couch reading yet another romance novel, obsessively watching pro wrestling with her friends, or taking blurry photos of her two adorable cats.

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