Espresso singer Sabrina Carpenter has dropped an alternate cover for her upcoming album Man’s Best Friend, days after facing backlash for allegedly gratifying the male gaze in the first album cover she shared earlier this month.
But the new cover did not come without the quirk the American singer-songwriter is known for — this time, the cover was “approved by god”.
“I signed some copies of Man’s Best Friend for you guys & here is a new alternate cover approved by God, available now on my website,” the Grammy-winning pop star wrote, sharing the cover on Instagram.
In the new cover, the singer appeared in a sleeveless dress, clinging to a man’s arm. The duo were surrounded by a few other men in formal attire.
Some are calling the new cover drop a genius PR move, while others see it as pure ‘Sabrina spontaneity’.
The reveal comes after Carpenter faced online backlash over the original album cover of Man’s Best Friend, which some internet users found “too provocative”.
The previous album cover features Carpenter sporting a black dress and high heels, and kneeling down in a dog-like pose, while an unidentified man stands beside her.
The image didn’t sit well with fans on social media, with many calling it “disgusting”, “gross” and “sick”.
“They want to take away all of our rights as women (including bodily autonomy and women's suffrage), and she comes out with this?!?! Girl, what the f*** is wrong with you,” a Reddit user wrote.
The new cover Carpenter dropped on Wednesday has set the internet abuzz. “This album rollout was engineered to provoke discussion about feminism and provoke discussion about the discussion itself… What we’re seeing is a manufactured conversation built solely for exposure.”
However, this isn’t the first time Carpenter has faced the ire of netizens. Her breakout single Espresso drew attention primarily for the song’s ‘unusual grammar’ and the perceived ‘nonsense’ of the lyrics, particularly for the track’s refrain “That’s that me espresso”.
Also, the 26-year-old singer’s provocative poses during live performances have often been at the receiving end of online criticism.
While talking about the recent backlash during an interview with Rolling Stone, Carpenter said, “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.”
Carpenter’s last album was Short n’ Sweet, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making it the third-biggest first week debut in 2024. She also bagged her first Grammy this year for Short n' Sweet in Best Pop Vocal Album category and for the song Espresso in Best Pop Solo Performance category.
