Sabrina Carpenter Addresses Album-Cover Backlash in Her SNL Monologue
October 18, 2025
Sabrina Carpenter leaned fully into the provocative image surrounding her latest record while pulling double-duty as both host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
In her opening monologue on Oct. 18, the 26-year-old pop star directly addressed the controversy over the cover of Man’s Best Friend — which depicts her on all fours as an unseen figure tugs her hair.
“Last time I was here, for the 50th anniversary, I got to sing with Paul Simon,” Carpenter told the crowd. “Since then my new album Man’s Best Friend came out, and some people got a little freaked out by the cover.”
She then pulled the image up on the screen and cracked a joke about the cropping, inviting the audience to “zoom out” for context. Carpenter riffed that the full shot shows a moment from the anniversary special — with Bowen Yang playfully helping her to her feet after Martin Short shoved her away from the buffet, quipping something about needing his mini-quiche.
Turning the conversation to her public persona, Carpenter poked fun at the caricatures people assign her. “Everyone thinks I’m just this horny pop star,” she said. “But I’m more complicated than that — I’m flirtatious, I’m charged, and I also love to read. My favorite book is the encyclopedia. It’s so big and it’s hard…”
To illustrate there’s a “real person” beneath the glam, she threatened — in keeping with a running joke from her concerts — to arrest someone in the crowd for being too attractive. Before she could carry out the gag, Kenan Thompson barreled onto the stage amid fake police lights and cuffed her with fuzzy pink handcuffs.
“For being hot?” Carpenter asked. Thompson replied, “No — for impersonating an officer 200 times at your shows. You keep arresting innocent hot people.” He then admitted he’d actually come to beg a cameo video for his niece, to which Carpenter immediately demanded $200,000.
In addition to the monologue and a string of sketches, Carpenter performed the tracks “Manchild” and “Nobody’s Son” during the episode.
Watch Sabrina Carpenter’s full SNL monologue below.
