Sabrina Carpenter draws criticism with new song and album announcement

Newsweek

a day ago

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Pop star Sabrina Carpenter has sparked debate online with the release of her new song Manchild and the artwork for her upcoming album Man's Best Friend.
The 26-year-old singer is no stranger to turning heads with her playful lyrics and performances, and Manchild is no exception.
While some fans are praising her signature tongue-in-cheek provocativeness, others say she has crossed a line by using language that they interpret as ableist.
The country-pop tune, which was released Thursday, is a takedown of disappointing men and is widely expected to soar up the charts. Jason Hellerman, a film and TV writer, praised the western-style music video as an "homage to female empowerment cinema." But not all listeners agree.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 03: Sabrina Carpenter attends the 'Moda Operandi' Pre-Met Gala cocktail party at The Twenty Two Hotel on May 03, 2025 in New York City.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 03: Sabrina Carpenter attends the 'Moda Operandi' Pre-Met Gala cocktail party at The Twenty Two Hotel on May 03, 2025 in New York City.
Aeon / Contributor/GC Images
The song's pre-chorus includes the line: "Stupid, or is it slow? Maybe it's useless? But there's a cuter word for it, I know," before Carpenter lands the punchline: "Manchild."
That particular lyric has drawn some criticism. Blaire Wilson (@blairewilsonproject), a 33-year-old disability advocate and independent journalist from Ontario, Canada said in a TikTok post that, as an autistic woman, she found the choice of adjectives—particularly "slow"—deeply problematic. She suggested non-ableist alternatives, including "reckless" for "stupid," "complacent" for "slow," and "selfish" for "useless."
Newsweek reached out to Sabrina Carpenter's publicists for comment via email outside if working hours and will update this article if they respond.
"The casual use of the word 'slow' in her new song Manchild is especially concerning to me given its history as an ableist slur against neurodivergent and intellectually disabled people," Wilson told Newsweek. "Language matters, particularly when used by public figures with large platforms. When such terms are repurposed casually or as a joke, even unintentionally, they reinforce harmful stereotypes and contribute to the erasure of marginalized communities."
Wilson connected her concerns to other struggles within the autistic community, including opposition to U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s proposed autism database.
"I think artists with significant influence need to consider how their work interacts with ongoing social struggles," she said. "Without that awareness, what may be intended as edgy or playful can unintentionally perpetuate harm and silence those who are already at risk."
She clarified that her suggested word alternatives were not meticulously chosen but meant to demonstrate how easy it is to describe someone acting immature or ridiculous without resorting to harmful language.
Wilson emphasized that as an autistic woman and the mother of a non-speaking autistic son, she sees firsthand the damaging impact words like "slow" can have. She argued that using such language, even ironically, reinforces harmful stereotypes that can have lasting consequences in education, healthcare, employment, and beyond.
Not everyone shared Wilson's point of view.
"Okay wait. I am autistic and I have personally no issue with these words being used, as the terms you provided on the screen are not synonymous with the lyrics," wrote a user named Em in the comments of the video.
"I get what you're saying but that's not what SHES saying. She's literally talking about a grown man that cheated on her," another commenter added.
Presley Cash (@hellomynameispresleycash), a 27-year-old artist from Missouri, also voiced concerns, calling the track "ableist – not feminist" in a TikTok video that garnered over 235,000 views and nearly 5,000 likes.
"The song stopped me in my tracks when I heard her mocking tone as she listed off different digs, the one in particular that made my stomach church was 'slow'," she told Newsweek.
Cash noted she was bullied throughout school for her learning disability.
"Especially followed by the word 'useless' I thought, 'this is 2025 right??' She's using a known slur for the disabled in her 'song of the summer' right now? My immediate thought was how many disabled children that look up to her and admire her are going to hear this song and be crushed that she is using verbiage that has been used against them time after time. To hear their favorite artist singing that slur in a mocking tone—on the radio no less! Hitting number 1 overnight. In my opinion the lyric in particular 'slow' should be taken off the radio," Cash told Newsweek.
Cash's video has comments switched off, but various other TikTokers have posted videos disagreeing with her argument, and pointing to a history of some male artists degrading women in their songs.
In addition to the lyrical critique, Carpenter's artwork for her upcoming album Man's Best Friend has also come under fire. The image, posted to her Instagram Wednesday, shows the singer being dragged across the floor by her hair—a choice some say promotes regressive gender stereotypes.
Kiera Dann (@ddiva444), a 21-year-old student from Brighton, UK, went viral with her commentary on the cover, racking up over 600,000 views.
@ddiva444
What do we think of the new album? I'm excited to hear the music! Just not so keen on the cover #sabrinacarpenter #dating ♬ original sound - Kiera
"I understand that Sabrina's music is often satirical and pokes fun at men's actions towards women, but without knowing her brand, it just paints women as an object used to serve men. If she had flipped the image so she was holding a man by his hair then that would be poking fun at the issue, but this just caters to the male gaze and normalises violence towards women," Dann told Newsweek.
According to the comments section, viewers of the video remain divided over both the song and the visuals. Some disagreed with Dann, interpreting the image as satireical and subversive, or urging viewers to wait to hear the album before forming an opinion.
Carpenter rose to prominence playing the starring role of Maya in the Disney Channel show Girl Meets World from 2014 to 2017. While she has been releasing music for 10 years, she found superstandom with her 2024 album, Short 'n' Sweet, which included the smash hits Espresso and Please, Please, Please.