Curly hair, doe eyes, and a fashionable taste in music and history, award-winning pop artist Sabrina Carpenter released her album “Man’s Best Friend” on Aug. 29, 2025. “Man’s Best Friend” re-explores that unapologetic, bold and flirtatious nature of pop through its cheeky songs and clever lyrics.
It features twelve songs, each about Carpenter’s romantic and sexual experiences with men. The album begins with “Manchild,” a country-synth pop fusion song that sets the entire setlist’s upbeat tone. The album debuted as the No.1 album on the Billboard 200 Chart, according to the Billboard 200 chart.
However, before its release, Carpenter faced intense backlash on social media, including TikTok and Instagram, due to the cover and title of “Man’s Best Friend.” The cover features a photo of Carpenter looking into the camera on all fours while an anonymous man uses her hair as a leash.
Some individuals online perceived the album as “an antifeminist catering to the male gaze” due to how she objectifies herself on both the cover and in the title, according to “Sabrina Carpenter Addresses ‘Man’s Best Friend’ Controversy,’” an article written by Neia Balao on AOL.com. The album’s tracklist itself doesn’t focus much on the dominant-submissive aspect that the cover is explicitly showing off, thus furthering the negative reviews.
Carpenter is surprised that people are reacting negatively to the album, and states that her recent music is an ironic take on patriarchal relationships, Carpenter said in an interview with Apple Music. She wanted to express that submissiveness is another type of dominance, while also implementing elements of cheekiness in both the album and cover, she added.
Another reason why Carpenter has come under fire is that her advertising team used AI to create stickers they released on TikTok.
The stickers that were “created” are strangely drawn and formatted. For example, a sticker of Carpenter on roller skates doesn’t have the same number of fingers on each hand. One hand has four fingers, while the other has five. Another example is how inconsistent the eyes are drawn in each sticker; the pupils are different sizes and different colors.
Using AI in art can be seen as lazy, as anyone can type up any prompt that they think of and receive a photo within seconds. Because of how quickly it can generate images, AI has been taking away the jobs of artists, according to corralldesign.com. What makes art special is that it’s made by a person; AI art isn’t. Carpenter’s use of AI to promote her album suggests that she does not fully take the work of artists seriously.
Although this decision may have been made without Carpenter’s awareness, the use of AI in terms of marketing is both unethical and harmful at the same time because of these reasons.
Despite the controversies Carpenter finds herself in, she expresses her sexuality through the unapologetic, promiscuous lyrics that she creates. Her music is a reminder that people shouldn’t be afraid to express themselves.
