SABRINA CARPENTER has vowed never to tone down her sexy image after music mogul Pete Waterman branded her steamy stage performances “offensive”.
The US pop star said she is just the latest in a long line of female singers to have been “shamed” over their flirty lyrics and skimpy outfits.
And in a chat with The Sun on Sunday, Sabrina, 25, hit back at the Eighties hitmaker, part of songwriting and production trio Stock Aitken Waterman.
She insisted: “My message has always been clear — if you can’t handle a girl who is confident in her own sexuality, then don’t come to my shows.”
The Espresso singer — who has been slated for risqué routines and re-enacting sex positions in stockings and suspenders on stage — said women being judged on their appearance “isn’t something new”.
She went on: “Female artists have been shamed forever. In the Noughties it was Rihanna, in the Nineties it was Britney Spears, in the Eighties it was Madonna — and now it’s me.
“It’s essentially saying that female performers should not be able to embrace their sexuality in their lyrics, in the way we dress, in the way we perform.
‘Need to be kind’
“It is totally regressive. It’s like those who want to shame don’t make comments when I talk about self-care or body positivity or heartbreak, which are all normal things a 25-year-old goes through.
“They just want to talk about the sexual side of my performances.”
It comes after pop legend Pete, along with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken, rounded on modern artists for flashing the flesh — despite many of their own acts, including Kylie Minogue and former glamour model Samantha Fox, doing it in the Eighties and Nineties.
Pete said that to see Sabrina “dressed as a little girl is quite offensive”.
The powerhouse trio even suggested the star, who spent a record 21 weeks at the top of the singles charts last year, was setting back the women’s rights movement, with Pete warning: “If you’re asking to be respected, don’t come on in a G-string.”
From Rihanna’s onstage romps with fans to star’s outrageous boob-flashing ‘habit’… the raunchy pop icons who make Sabrina Carpenter look tame
He, Mike and Matt have written hit tunes for the likes of Kylie and Rick Astley under their record production company, SAW.
They were at the unveiling this week of a blue plaque at their former studios in South London.
Commenting on vulgar language in songs, Mike added: “I would never try to write a lyric that said anything specific on a sexual level.
“You’d always be allegorical or allude to it somehow. So I don’t like that.
“I think it’s a bad show and it’s lazy. You’re going to grab some form of attention by doing that.”
He continued: “They’ve won all of their freedoms and their rights, women.
“They fought for everything they’ve got and now they’re throwing it away — that’s the way I would look at it.”
But Sabrina told how the key to her confidence is being content in her 5ft frame. She said: “As women, we can look at another woman and be like, ‘Oh, she has the perfect body’.
“But if you were to ask the woman you think has a perfect body, I guarantee she will have her own insecurities.
“That’s why as women we need to be kind to each other.”
Sabrina has faced a backlash for her sexy routines as part of her sold-out Short N’ Sweet Tour, which will see her hitting the UK in March.
In a tiny silver miniskirt and crop top, she appears to mimic oral sex with a microphone on stage during her song Juno, about wanting to get pregnant.
In the track — named after the 2007 film about a teenager expecting a baby — Sabrina sings: “Hold me and explore me, I’m so f***ing’ horny.”
Meanwhile, in the track Bed Chem, she is seen undressing and acting out a sex position with a male dancer.
One fan said on X/Twitter: “Love Sabrina Carpenter but the over-sexual stuff is a little excessive in my opinion.”
Student Gabby Pascuzzi added: “I guess I am a 31-year-old and afraid of Sabrina Carpenter because I genuinely find it unsettling when she pantomimes a sex position in that one song . . . am I a prude or is it cringe?”
Earn her a Brit
In an interview with Time magazine last year, Sabrina said: “Femininity is something that I’ve always embraced.
“And if right now that means corsets and garter belts and fuzzy robes or whatever the f***, then that’s what that means.”
She added: “It’s unfortunate that it’s ever been something to criticise because, truthfully, the scariest thing in the world is getting up on a stage in front of that many people and having to perform as if it’s nothing.
“If the one thing that helps you do that is the way you feel comfortable dressing, then that’s what you’ve got to do.”
Asked if she feels “trapped” by her Disney persona, which saw her play Maya Hart in the series Girl Meets World between 2014 and 2017, she said: “Not at all.
“I think there is this inaccurate belief that if you have once been a Disney star, you need this wild transition to show you aren’t a kid any more.
“I don’t buy into that all. I didn’t ever think I had to pick certain projects to show I had moved on.
“I just picked the projects that excited me.”
It’s essentially saying that female performers should not be able to embrace their sexuality in their lyrics, in the way we dress, in the way we perform
Sabrina Carpenter
Despite the backlash on social media, Sabrina has made history in the UK following the release of her album Short N’ Sweet, which is expected to earn her a Brit award for International Artist of the Year at the ceremony in London in March.
In August, she became the first female in history to land the UK’s No1 album and single at the same time with track Taste and record Short N’ Sweet.
It came as she also held the top three spots in the UK Official Singles Chart with Taste, Espresso and Please, Please, Please. On top of her phenomenal musical success, Sabrina has also made headlines for her on-off relationship with Irish actor Barry Keoghan.
The Sun on Sunday revealed last year that Barry, 32, and Sabrina were planning to make their red carpet debut together after they were first spotted having dinner together in Los Angeles in December 2023.
However, three months after making their romance official at the star-studded Met Gala in New York in May, we revealed that the pair had decided to split.
Sabrina remained tight-lipped about the break-up, but said of her relationship status: “I share a lot of myself through my lyrics and my performances, but there will always be things that stay private.”
The singer, who grew up in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, has said she cannot wait to perform for her British fans at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on March 6.
She said: “I am so excited. I have been perfecting my British accent — so you never know, I might try it out during one of my intros.”
EMILY’S DOSE OF REALITY
AFTER having her first child last year, Emily Atack is about to welcome another new addition in her life – a fly-on-the-wall reality show.
I can reveal she is piloting a show for Disney+ following the mega success of Rivals, the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster she appeared in.
An insider told me: “The show is being made by Boldprint Studios, who made the smartphone documentary with Matt and Emma Willis.
“The show will follow Emily as she navigates motherhood and as she continues her fight against sexual harassment.”
Emily, who had son Barney with her partner Alistair Garner in June, started filming in December.
Of her relationship with Alistair, Emily said: “I used to pray to God that I would end up with somebody who made me feel safe, and I’m safe with Al now.”
Her happiness comes after years of dating turmoil, and she admitted: “For such a long time I had found dating hard and lonely.”
I can’t wait to watch this new show.
JAMIE’S HOOKED
JAMIE REDKNAPP has revealed the secret to his youthful complexion – salmon sperm injections.
The Sky Sports pundit and ex-footballer said he is having the jabs in his face.
They are said to improve hydration and reduce signs of ageing, and known as polynucleotides in beauty circles.
During filming for Sky’s A League Of Their Own, due to air on Thursday, host Romesh Ranganathan said: “What’s the deal with this salmon sperm?”
Jamie replied: “It’s a new little treatment, you put a little bit in and it smoothes you over. I have had a little go.”
EX-EASTENDER Shona McGarty is desperate to be on Strictly Come Dancing – and has a cunning plan not to fall victim to the famous romantic curse.
The actress and singer, who played Whitney Dean on the BBC soap, has also reassured her fiancé, Irish musician David Bracken, who she calls Bubby.
Shona, left, said: “I would love to do Strictly. I just feel like you either love someone you are with and want to be with them, or you disrespect them and go and bonk someone else.”
She added: “I feel like a drag queen at heart. I absolutely love it. I’m obsessed with Ru Paul’s Drag Race – it’s my comfort.
“So Strictly just appeals to my soul, because it’s sequins and glitter and tan, and hair and nails.”
Speaking on the Walking The Dog podcast, she said: “And there’s Russian men in Lycra, who are probably gay. So no worries Bubby.”
BAD SISTER SHARON NOT MAD FER TIM
UNLIKELY couple Sharon Horgan and Madchester great Tim Burgess have gone their separate ways.
The Irish actress and comedy writer called time on her two-year relationship with the The Charlatans frontman late last year, but I’m told the pair remain friends.
Sharon, from Apple TV’s Bad Sisters, originally got to know Tim after he tweeted about how much he loved her on Channel 4 show Catastrophe.
And as their friendship developed, she even sang on The Charlatans’ 2017 album Different Days.
I spotted the pair smooching at Glastonbury a few years ago and they were often spotted at showbiz events.
A source said: “Sharon and Tim had a great time together, but have both got busy careers and felt that it was time to call it a day.
“Sharon’s making the most of her career high and isn’t in a rush to get married and settle down.”
It comes as she revealed last week that she wished she’d ended her previous 14-year marriage to producer Jeremy Rainbird earlier.
She said: “It’s an odd one because I’ve never been happier, but I’m still angry at myself – not really for the failure of the marriage, but for not figuring it out earlier.
“It’s so destructive. You get one life and that’s an awful lot of time to spend on something that’s not working.”
Well said, Shaz.
AFTER collaborating with Jason Derulo on new track Snake, Nora Fatehi said she had to give him some extra dance lessons.
The Canadian actress, famous for Bollywood movies, said the song related to how she moves her body.
She added: “When I dance, I can be very flexible, so I do waves and move my hips in certain ways.”
Jason said: “She showed me how to move my body like a snake. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.
“It was something that took me a little second to get.”
Party of the week
PARTY: Henley Festival 2025 launch party, Boodles, Bond St, London.
WHAT WE ATE: Sushi.
WHAT WE DRANK: Moet and Chandon champagne.
FESTIVAL LINE-UP: Jamie Cullum, Diana Ross, McFly and Rick Astley.
This week who I would…
SNOG: FORMER Love Islander Elma Pazar appearing on this month’s Gettin Lippy podcast.
MARRY: AFTER bringing out his stunning new single Grace this week, it has to be Kyle Falconer.
AVOID: Storm Eowyn. I will be staying inside for the rest of the weekend until it disappears.
