Sabrina Carpenter sparks fresh backlash for 'pretending to be a child' amid Lolita controversy: Fans say she's trying too hard

Sabrina Carpenter might be celebrating chart success, but her latest Instagram post has fans doing a serious double-take. The singer, who just hit No. 1 in both the US and UK with her single Manchild, posted a carousel of behind-the-scenes photos on Wednesday to mark the milestone. Still, one picture in particular is causing fresh waves of internet discourse. This comes right after her Lolita controversy, which has already sparked a wave of criticism against the rising pop star.
Sabrina shares a new controversial image
In the newly shared image, Sabrina is perched inside a shopping cart wearing a checkered crop top, short denim shorts, and fire-red heels, while an older man—suited in a leather jacket—leans beside her on a motorcycle. The whole scene reads like a quirky Americana fever dream, but given the timing, some aren't seeing it as innocent fun.
With the Lolita-themed backlash still trailing her recent photoshoots and album art, fans online were quick to comment on the odd visual.
The image was also shared on Reddit's r/popculturecirclejerk subreddit with the title 'Controversy queen strikes again' and the caption 'Amidst the Lolita controversy, Carpenter pretends to be a child shopping with her dad.'
In the comments, Redditors largely agreed that the Please Please Please hitmaker might be trying a little too hard to spark a second wave of viral attention after last summer's breakout success. Some users felt that the photo leaned into controversy just for the sake of staying in the spotlight, calling it a bit forced compared to her earlier, more effortless pop stunts.
One user wrote, "There comes a time in every starlet's career when you pull out the degraded film filters, rednecks, and cigarettes."
Another mocked the 26-year-old, writing, "Someone who is a peak nepo baby from an old showbiz family, who was a child star under 10, because her Auntie is literally Bart Simpson (who was also a young star) – doing poor-core is wildly cringe."
A third commented, "I preferred Into You by Ariana Grande music vid for my dirty motel pr*stitute and dirty biker drug dealer Americana vibe," while a fourth wrote, "women are not for sale."
Sabrina denies any Lolita inspiration but the internet isn't convinced
This all comes on the heels of controversy around a W Magazine shoot that featured Sabrina in a soaked yellow dress, an image nearly identical to scenes from the 1997 film Lolita. Fans were quick to make the connection online, but Sabrina decided to publicly hit back.
'I've never seen this movie,' she wrote in a public comment on TikTok. 'It's never been on my mood board and never would be.' Despite her clear denial, the conversation didn't die down. Instead, it spread into a wider debate about her current album visuals, which some have accused of pandering to the male gaze and leaning too hard into infantilised sexuality.
Sabrina Carpenter shuts down claims that she was inspired by 'Lolita' for her W Magazine photoshoot:'i've never seen this movie. it's never been on my mood board and never would be' pic.twitter.com/3LXuO79rbe
She's self-aware and unbothered, for the most part
Sabrina isn't new to controversy, and she's shown she knows how to play with public perception. In recent interviews, she admitted she's aware of how her sexualised image is received and finds humour in the irony that people often criticise the same songs and visuals they helped make popular. When one user accused her of having no personality beyond sex, she clapped back, 'Girl, yes, and it is goooooood.'
Meanwhile, she was recently slammed for controversial imagery for her upcoming album, Man's Best Friend, for allegedly pandering to the 'male gaze'. Her new album drops on August 29, 2025.

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