Yes, this album cover is shocking, but that's the whole point.

Sabrina Carpenter knows exactly what she's doing. 

Overnight, the singer dropped the cover for her upcoming album, Man's Best Friend, and it took approximately three seconds for "the internet" to spiral. 

Because the cover shows the 26-year-old in what, at first glance, appears to be a very compromising position. 

On all fours. In a short, black dress and sheer, shiny tights. Her long blonde hair being grabbed and pulled by a man conveniently positioned out of frame.

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A post shared by Sabrina Carpenter (@sabrinacarpenter)

"My new album, 'Man's Best Friend' is out on August 29, 2025," she captioned the provocative picture.

"I can't wait for it to be yours x."

While some fans praised the pic (and welcomed the news that more music was on the way), others were quick to clutch their pearls; accuse the singer of self-degradation and declare that Sabrina had "sold out" to objectification. 

"This set us back about 5 decades," one comment read, while another said, "this isn't subversive, it's degrading". 

"These images are clearly designed for the male gaze and are not empowering," read another, to which we want to reply: respectfully, shush. 

Watch: That one time Sabrina Carpenter upset the Catholic Church. Post continues below.

Because this isn't Sabrina pandering, it's her poking fun.

She's not reinforcing objectification, but rather skewering it — with a wink, a hair flip and her signature lipstick kiss. It's one huge joke and Sabrina Carpenter isn't the punchline, but rather the one delivering it. 

The title alone should have given it away.

Man's Best Friend? A phrase traditionally used to describe dogs, and also, hilariously, a term often grossly weaponised against women. We've all heard a woman called a bitch and most definitely have been called one ourselves more than a few times. The title is a mocking nod to the way society treats women — as accessories, as obedient companions, as bitches (both literally and culturally). This isn't just cheeky wordplay; it's weaponised femininity.

The cover image is giving "this bitch bites back", and the singer's teeth are well and truly out. 

The singer's music has never pretended to be soft and submissive. It's pretty and poppy, yes, but it's also powerful, hyper-feminine and deeply self-aware. 

Sabrina has carefully curated a public persona as the heartbreaking homewrecker, the dumb blonde, the damsel in distress. She lures us into her candy-coated world of high-gloss femininity before flipping the switch from flirty to feral at 'Espresso'-speed. Her songs — and this cover — are a glossy, tongue-in-cheek jab at how women are often treated in relationships: like obedient pets expected to sit pretty, stay loyal and not talk back. 

The first single from the new album, 'Manchild', should have been the biggest hint that a cover like this was coming. The lyrics take the infantilisation and objectification of women, flip them on their heads, and feed them back to us on a silver, sparkled platter with a wink and a damn catchy hook.

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A post shared by Sabrina Carpenter (@sabrinacarpenter)

The opening line — "You said your phone was broken, just forgot to charge it" — paints the perfect picture of the emotionally underdeveloped, romantically inept modern male. The lines, "Stupid? Or is it slow? Maybe it's useless?" is frustration masked as curiosity in the form of the ultimate TikTok soundbite.

The bridge, "I like my men all incompetent"? It's a parody of the way women are conditioned to expect — and accept — emotional labour as love.

This song, my friends, is subversion dressed up in sparkles. It's a brutal takedown of man-babies from a girl who proudly wears bubblegum pink. It is cultural commentary delivered alongside an addictive sugar high. 

But this isn't just about one album cover; it's about how we keep missing the point when high-profile women play with satire, sexuality and performance.

The backlash here is hardly anything new — every time a female artist reclaims her own image (Madonna writhing in lingerie, Miley swinging from a wrecking ball, and now Sabrina crawling on all fours like the perfect pet), there's a rush for people to blame and shame. 

Listen: Mamamia Out Loud discusses the backlash against Sabrina Carpenter and her X-rated performances. Post continues below.

We clearly have not learned that just because a woman looks like a fantasy doesn't mean she's not writing her own script. Critiquing the systems that profit from objectification is one thing, but coming for the women who manipulate those systems for their own storytelling? We can do better. 

So before you call the album cover "degrading", perhaps we should wait and listen to it first. Or ask ourselves who exactly is being degraded and who is in control of the narrative. 

Because, yes, Sabrina is positioning herself as Man's Best Friend here. But only if you're into leash-play that ends in your ego getting absolutely dragged. 

Feature image: Instagram/@sabrinacarpenter