Sabrina Carpenter Is Glad You Like Her Sexual Content

Sabrina Carpenter is in her working-girl era. Just one year after her sixth album, Short n’ Sweet, launched her into the stratosphere, the former Disney star is picking up where she left off with Man’s Best Friend. The album cover alone—Sabrina on all fours in a black mini dress and heels, as an anonymous guy grips her signature blonde hair—had the internet spiraling. But beyond the controversy, it’s the music—glossy, confident pop served with a wink—that keeps her in the center of the conversation. From their couches in Manhattan, Sabrina and Interview editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg got on the phone to talk about music, men, and more men.

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FRIDAY 5 PM JULY 18, 2025 NYC

SABRINA CARPENTER: Hi, Mel, how are you?

MEL OTTENBERG: Fantastic, Sabrina Carpenter. How are you?

CARPENTER: Good. Thanks for getting on.

OTTENBERG: Oh, my god. Thank you so much for doing the September cover of Interview.

CARPENTER: How do you like the pictures? Do they look okay?

OTTENBERG: They look so good. You’re so hot, of course.

CARPENTER: Yay! I wasn’t sure and also I wasn’t sure how my skin would handle the shaving cream, but it was fun.

OTTENBERG: We love to have fun.

CARPENTER: I got pretty sick after the shoot. [Laughs] I think there was mold in that house.

OTTENBERG: The house was disgusting and if we got you sick, I’m really, really sorry. I think it will be worth it.

CARPENTER: I was like, “You know what? Die for your art.”

OTTENBERG: Wait, do you get sick a lot when you’re on tour and stuff?

CARPENTER: That’s a great question. Every single tour I’ve ever gone on since I was 16 years old, I’ve gotten really sick at some point for two to three weeks. I’ve never canceled a show because I was sick. I always try to push forward and just not talk until I’m onstage, and most of the time I get through unscathed.

OTTENBERG: It must be so hard. Someone just canceled an interview yesterday because they were sick, and I’m like, “They’re lying,” but I don’t know.

CARPENTER: Well, I think about women all the time like, “They must be on their periods, because I am.” Performing when you’re on day one—you can announce it, but sometimes you don’t want people to know your cycle. I’m like the devil in disguise right now.

OTTENBERG: I understand. I’ll be on high alert. [Laughs]

CARPENTER: Thank you.

OTTENBERG: Alright, so where are you?

CARPENTER: I’m in New York. I’m really jet-lagged. I just got back from Europe yesterday.

OTTENBERG: What’s going on today?

CARPENTER: I’m just a working girl. I’ve been answering emails and unpacking my suitcase. I’m trying to get outside but the heat is very unbearable right now. Are you here, too?

OTTENBERG: Yeah, I’m here. I’m sitting on my couch.

CARPENTER: I love, we’re just both on our couches in the same city. [Laughs]

OTTENBERG: What are you wearing?

CARPENTER: I’m wearing a big t-shirt and it says “Camera shy” on it.

OTTENBERG: Cute. Did you watch anything last night?

CARPENTER: No. I landed at 7:00 p.m., and I thought because I slept the whole plane ride that I was going to get to my apartment and be up all night, but I fell asleep with college kids at the bar beneath me screaming. I just drifted off to sleep. It was blissful.

OTTENBERG: I love it.

CARPENTER: But Europe was really beautiful. I get the hype, I’m not going to lie.

OTTENBERG: Europeans do a lot of things better in general.

CARPENTER: Starting with their butter.

OTTENBERG: Yeah. I mean listen, I’m very into being in New York right now. It’s a dump, but I like it. Do you like it here?

CARPENTER: I love New York.

OTTENBERG: Really?

CARPENTER: I’ve been here for almost four years now.

OTTENBERG: Wow.

CARPENTER: I came here in 2021. I wanted to write my album, Emails I Can’t Send, at Jungle City [Studios]. I wrote that album and then I was like, “I can’t really leave here.” It was such a cliché twenties thing. I was like, “I’m going to move to New York by myself.” I’ve been bicoastal ever since, but I’m from the East Coast originally.

OTTENBERG: I love that. What do you like about this dump? Do you like our pizza, do you like our taxis?

CARPENTER: [Laughs] I think what really sold me was the fire escape. I felt like I was living in my own little movie and I could watch the rats from above, which is important to me.

OTTENBERG: Okay, what else are you watching? Are you a TV girl?

CARPENTER: I’m not. I don’t even have a TV in my apartment. It sounds like I’m so disconnected and old school, but when I’m here, I just listen to music.

OTTENBERG: I really liked the music that you were playing when you were on set. It was refreshing and relaxing. I think you have really good taste.

CARPENTER: Thank you.

OTTENBERG: Diana Ross—you’re a musical old soul, maybe.

CARPENTER: It’s kind of all I know to listen to. It’s what I was raised on. Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of the Blue Nile. The ’70s are where I find a lot of comfort songs. Obviously my love for bands like Fleetwood Mac and ABBA is endless, but I’m having so much fun discovering new albums.

OTTENBERG: I actually find a lot of classic music that I don’t know on Spotify. Where do you find stuff?

CARPENTER: I find it on Spotify and I go to record stores, but I agree it’s a lot easier now and there’s so many artists you go back to and you’re like, “This wasn’t a hit? It’s a hit to me.”

OTTENBERG: Do you know the album Once Upon a Time by Donna Summer?

CARPENTER: Yes!

OTTENBERG: It’s a double album and has no hits on it, but it’s so incredible.

CARPENTER: Sometimes albums are made to be albums. It’s not like, “I know this album because it had the biggest songs on it,” but more so that I feel a certain way when I listen to it from start to finish. That’s kind of how I made my next album. I was like, “What if I was just writing exactly how I feel in this chapter?” Maybe the album only spans two months of my life, but that period is documented. It gets to live forever that way.

OTTENBERG: You’ve had such an amazing couple of years. Your career was exploding, and then you made this whole album in the midst of that, right?

CARPENTER: Well, I’ve been doing this for a long time. Sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes it’s a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. There’s an idea that once you get to a certain point, the pressure’s on, and then you start to really overthink it. I was just like, “This is no different than when I was making the last album.” Nobody told me I needed to put it out at any date. If I felt inspired, I would just write. You can write and it doesn’t have to be for anything. But if you listen back to it and you go, “This should be in the world; I want people to hear this,” then that starts to become more real. And that’s kind of what happened.

OTTENBERG: Like, “I want to play these songs. I don’t want to think about the hit factory,” or something?

CARPENTER: I mean, I was so fortunate that people gravitated towards the last album in the way that they did. It actually made me write more because I felt more understood. As long as the songs are honest to me, that’s what’s important. I always think about videos when I’m writing songs, but the whole idea of what comes after you make the music is hard to think about in the moment. I just make it and then see what happens.

OTTENBERG: Right.

CARPENTER: Short n’ Sweet was really hard for me to crack. It was multi-genre. It was a kind of introductory album to a new chapter of my life, but it also didn’t feel like a self-titled album. It took me a really long time to come up with the title and the visuals to go along with it. This one was a breath of fresh air in that sense. I felt like I really knew the whole way what I was doing and what I wanted.

OTTENBERG: Did you get the reaction you wanted to the album cover of Man’s Best Friend?

CARPENTER: [Laughs] That is such a great question.

OTTENBERG: Thank you so much. It’s a genuine question.

CARPENTER: If I’m being completely transparent, I don’t do anything anticipating what the reaction will be. I only do things that speak to me, that feel right, and make sense when you hear the music. When I came up with the imaging for it, it was so clear to me what it meant. So the reaction is fascinating to me. You just watch it unravel and go, “Wow.”

OTTENBERG: What does Man’s Best Friend mean?

CARPENTER: This is another question that I’ve been asked a few times. The day after I announced the album, I was on a plane and the flight attendant just bends over and he’s like, “But why Man’s Best Friend?” I was like, “Honey, you’re going to have to listen to the album.” You can be sure that anything I do and say has a little bit of a wink to it.

OTTENBERG: A hundred percent. Also your lyrics, the way you talk about sex, I’m really impressed. There’s full Madonna Erotica-level horniness on every album.

CARPENTER: I mean, there’s a lot of nuance to this and I’m not naive to that, but I felt like, “Why is this taboo?” This is something that women experience in such a real way, becoming comfortable with themselves and who they are. There’s so many reasons why I called it Man’s Best Friend and there’s so many layers in the experiences that I was going through at the time where, emotionally, I felt like one. I’m really, really grateful that there’s enough of my audience that really knows me as a person that will be able to hear these songs how they’re intended. It’s always going to be up to interpretation and I understand that. But I’m glad you like my sexual content.

OTTENBERG: I do. I really like your sexual content.

CARPENTER: [Laughs]

OTTENBERG: We’re going to talk about that more in a second, but back to the album art. I was like, “Wait, this is a really successful album cover to me, in that I always say, ‘Viva hate.’” Like, fuck it. Let them hate you. If they’re talking, it’s good. But when there’s all this controversy and people are screaming about it, do you like it? Does it make you cry or giggle?

CARPENTER: I guess a little bit of both. My experience and point of view are going to be so different from how other people live their lives. Sometimes I read things and I’m like, “Wow, I don’t experience this that way, but if they do, then that’s real to them.” But what I’m going through in this record, which is loss and heartbreak and celebration and trying to navigate my life as a young woman—it’s not so much like I’m above it all, but I’m not beneath it, either.

OTTENBERG: I guess they were mad that you appear submissive, but I don’t really see what’s wrong with that.

CARPENTER: Well, what are you?

OTTENBERG: Me?

CARPENTER: Yeah.

OTTENBERG: I can be either dominant or submissive. What about yourself ?

CARPENTER: I sort of feel the same way. I mean, this is on a completely different subject, but I do feel like submission is both dominant and submissive. It really depends on what your intentions are and what you want, and what you crave, and what you need. The image, the way I see it, is a metaphor, but I’m sure that other people are like, “Dang, she’s a sub?”

OTTENBERG: Listen, I’m with you. Sometimes you’re the boss all day and you’re like—wait, hold on.

CARPENTER: [Laughs]

OTTENBERG: I totally know how to dominate through submission and vice versa. I’ve walked the walk. Also, if someone’s just a sub, they’re not going to put that album cover up, I think. [Laughs]

CARPENTER: Yeah, and I think again, when you hear it, so much of my point of view and the mentality I have experiencing these situations, I mean, any boy that’s dated me knows—

OTTENBERG: What’s your type?

CARPENTER: My type?

OTTENBERG: Yeah.

CARPENTER: Man-children, clearly. But I really like talented people. That’s kind of my type.

OTTENBERG: Do man-children find you or do you find them?

CARPENTER: That’s the thing I’m trying to get across—it’s not just those people finding you, it’s you allowing them to find you. It’s taking account- ability, like, “Oh, damn, my type always leaves me in distress.” But in reality, I’m allowing myself to be left in distress. I’ve been going through that the way I’m supposed to right now. I’m young-woman-ing the way that I need to young-woman at this very moment. I can’t speak for myself in a few years, but right now I think I’m supposed to be learning from mistakes and finding light in the fact that not everything works out sunshine and rainbows. You know?

OTTENBERG: Any summer romance right now?

CARPENTER: Urgh, I wish! Do you know anybody?

OTTENBERG: I feel like I should know someone. He’s hot, stupid, and fun.

CARPENTER: You said stupid, not me.

OTTENBERG: You said it in your motherfucking song, girl!

CARPENTER: [Laughs]

OTTENBERG: I have the lyrics right here. Although, I will say that the dumb hot men, in my experience, are good in bed.

CARPENTER: That’s all that matters, right?

OTTENBERG: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

CARPENTER: No, but I couldn’t actually talk to a stupid man. In reality, I’m usually tangled up with men who are smart, but even smart men can be stupid.

OTTENBERG: Us men are pretty stupid.

CARPENTER: You know what? I’m just going to get a dog.

OTTENBERG: She’s just going to get man’s best friend. If you were going to get a dog today, what would its name be?

CARPENTER: Honestly, if I got a dog today, I’d probably name it Shirley Temple.

OTTENBERG: I love that. But Sabrina, what is your type? You said he’s smart. Fine, but what else? Mine is tall, dark, and handsome—and maybe mysterious, but also possibly dumb.

CARPENTER: I’m always really drawn to people that are super passionate. Obviously, conversation’s a huge thing for me because I don’t really shut up. But also someone who’s empathetic and good at reading a room and somewhat emotionally mature. I can’t say I’ve always nailed it, but that would be my type.

OTTENBERG: Okay. Is he tall? Is he a short king?

CARPENTER: Mel, I’m a short girl, so I can date anyone. [Laughs]

OTTENBERG: Okay, so like five to seven feet.

CARPENTER: Short men are tall men to me, and tall men are just tall, tall men to me. It doesn’t really matter, as long as they ignite some sort of fire.

OTTENBERG: How old is he? I’m looking for him.

CARPENTER: I think we should stop looking.

OTTENBERG: Oh, my god, I love that. When we stop looking, he comes. I believe in you and love.

CARPENTER: That’s what I’m saying. And guess what? I am working late type shit. [Laughs]

OTTENBERG: Are you superstitious?

CARPENTER: Yeah. I’m the kind that needs to knock on wood anytime I get the chance. I’m very intentional about the words I speak. I really feel that they are the most powerful thing. I’ve had a few experiences of this since I was young—I’m a very sarcastic person and I really value humor, so there’d be a lot of times where I’d be making jokes with my friends, and I’d be saying them over and over again, and then those things would happen in real life. I’d be like, “Oh, well it’s not so funny when it’s happening to me, so I need to be more careful about the things that I’m putting out into the world.” Now, I’m very positive with the things that I speak on, usually.

OTTENBERG: Okay. Wait, I’m sorry. I have an important question I forgot.

CARPENTER: I’m picturing you like a mad scientist in your lair with all these papers looking for questions. [Laughs]

OTTENBERG: It’s deeply not like that. I look like a fucking frat dad. [Laughs] Okay, where did you write Man’s Best Friend?

CARPENTER: I started in L.A. right after I finished Short n’ Sweet. And then I was in London for a chunk of time and then I came and finished the album in New York and L.A. It was three different places; they all inspired me in such different ways. I think that’s a huge reason why the album sounds the way that it does.

OTTENBERG: But do you write in bed? Where does it just work?

CARPENTER: Everywhere. Unfortunately, it’s usually right as I’m about to fall asleep that I think of most of my ideas. I’ll have sleepovers with my friend and she’ll be next to me, fully snoring, and I’ll be recording voice memos in my phone next to her, trying not to wake her up. [Laughs]

OTTENBERG: Oh, wow.

CARPENTER: I felt the most inspired when I was in London, but it really can happen anywhere—in the shower, in the car. I mean, I made this album with Jack [Antonoff], John [Ryan], and Amy [Allen]. It was just the four of us and a lot of fireplaces. There was a constant smell of smoke in the air and I was in a really delirious state, almost. But a lot of it ended up being exactly how I felt, which was sort of hugged and thrown around in my head. But the production is some of my favorite ever, and it’s obviously all because of Jack and John. They’re both masters of what they do. If you listen to the instrumentals on their own, it’s another album, so I’m really excited about that as well.

OTTENBERG: I met Jack in the recording studio of a fellow Interview cover star of yours, and the vibe was very chill. Are you standing, are you sitting, are you lying? What’s going on in there?

CARPENTER: By the time it’s like one in the morning and you’re still cutting vocals, you’re definitely crawling on the floor. [Laughs] You’re lying down, you’re pacing the room. That’s the thing I love so much about making music with those three. The energy is really all-in. There can be such an urgency to be like, “Oh, my god, I have this idea. I’m going to run over here to the drums.” “Oh, my god, I have this idea. I’m going to grab the banjo.” “I know this synth sound. I’m going to look for it,” while I’m over here writing lyrics. Sometimes it can be chill, but I think that’s just down to the music. We were making a really fun album, so we were having a lot of fun.

OTTENBERG: Are you done with the album? Or can you still tinker with it?

CARPENTER: Well, I can tweak the masters, but certain things have to be turned in ahead of time. That’s also why I felt so motivated to sign, seal, and deliver this thing. I know that I could overthink it to death and make it something completely different, but then I’d never finish.

OTTENBERG: Are you a perfectionist?

CARPENTER: I can be, yeah. But with this album, I started to ask myself the question of, what does perfect mean? And is it better or worse? To me, the songs in this album are perfect in their imperfections, but other people listening might think differently. I know there will be people who will critique it because that’s the awesome world I’m in right now. [Laughs] It consumes me. When I make an album, every little aspect is something that I’m thinking through, so I could do it for six more months, but I tried to not do that this time. I did go really, really hard during the few months I had to finish everything up, and then I let it go.

OTTENBERG: Are you a control freak?

CARPENTER: I like control and I think I have a lot of it. Other people might deem me a control freak, but I don’t think I’m a freak. I think I’m just a control girl.

OTTENBERG: How do you feel about being hot?

CARPENTER: So good.

OTTENBERG: Do you ever get scared of not being hot anymore?

CARPENTER: [Laughs] That’s such a good question.

OTTENBERG: You told me to be real.

CARPENTER: I know. It’s usually pretty insufferable men that think I’m hideous, but when I think about beauty, it’s been about when I myself feel beautiful. It has nothing to do with other people. I haven’t really grappled with what’s going to happen as I get older, but my mom’s always been a natural beauty and always really encouraged me to just let it happen. She’s like, “Let the world weather you.” The world is definitely weathering me right now.

OTTENBERG: What are you fearless about?

CARPENTER: Performing. Being onstage has always been something that I’m not really fearful of, which is quite beautiful.

OTTENBERG: What scares you?

CARPENTER: It’s a long list. [Laughs] Are we talking spiders or are we talking, like—

OTTENBERG: No, we’re talking about feelings.

CARPENTER: I would say I’m scared of being misunderstood, but I’m so past that point. I think what scares me is not spending enough time with the people I love. And because I work so much, it’s hard for me to balance life. That scares me sometimes— and spiders.

OTTENBERG: How do you let loose?

CARPENTER: Genuinely? I don’t have a vice. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink to deal with things. I let loose by not answering texts.

OTTENBERG: Yeah.

CARPENTER: Can you relate?

OTTENBERG: Oh, my god, yes. [Laughs] Not answering texts is great, or not showing up.

CARPENTER: Sometimes it feels so good because I’ll be like, “I was supposed to go to this thing,” and then last-minute I’ll be like, “The universe says I shouldn’t go tonight. The moon is in retrograde.” I see pictures the next day from the thing I didn’t go to, and every time, I’m like, “That didn’t look fun.”

OTTENBERG: I did it last night. I had an event and I was like, “I’m watching shit on Netflix instead and I’m not apologizing for it.” Alright, wait, I’ve got to think of one more motherfucking thing to ask you before the wig comes off. The pictures are very hot by the way.

CARPENTER: Oh, thank you.

OTTENBERG: Do you love glam?

CARPENTER: I love glam. I really, really do. My mom was a dancer, so growing up, makeup and dance recitals and dress-up, all of it was very, very nor- mal for me. Even right now, I get really excited to dress up. I’m wearing my mom’s clothes, and now it’s a little bit more realistic, because I’m the same age that she was when she was dancing. That’s another thing that really warms my heart. People are like, “How could you wear that?” And my mom is like, “You looked so cute in that outfit last night.” But I love dressing up. I love makeup. I mean, we wore a wig for this shoot. I’m not well versed in them, but it’s fun when I do.

OTTENBERG: What’s the Sabrina look that you feel hottest in?

CARPENTER: I feel hottest when I feel the most me, when I have pretty, wavy curly hair and a nice tan, freckles, a dewy cheek situation, and obviously a lip liner. And I love a little set—a little top and bottom.

OTTENBERG: Is this a lingerie set that we’re talking about?

CARPENTER: No, but I would have that under what I’m wearing. And it’s better if it’s matching.

OTTENBERG: Listen, I wish I had a better sex question. You threw me off. [Laughs]

CARPENTER: Wait, why?

OTTENBERG: You were like, “What’s your preference in bed?” I didn’t get the quote—you did, which is so funny.

CARPENTER: Well, everyone’s always asking me questions.

OTTENBERG: No, girl, you’re good. You’re real, but you’re not messy.

CARPENTER: Depends how you define messy. I’m weirdly so type-A and then also so not type-A at the same time. [Laughs] It just really depends. I also know that people spin the shit out of these quotes, so I’m trying to be in the moment while also being like, “Let me not.” But that’s just what comes with it; you just got to vibe.

OTTENBERG: I mean, I was thinking about what you were saying about perfection earlier, and I think what we really need now is vibes.

CARPENTER: Yeah. Following your gut, as cliché as it is, is a really powerful thing that I’m learning in life. Even the wrong path is still the right path. Right now, I’m talking to you about if you’re a top or a bottom, so we must be doing something right. I’m having a fun time.

OTTENBERG: [Laughs] My last question for you is, what are you doing tonight?

CARPENTER: Legit? I’m going to sleep the second I hang up this phone. [Laughs]

OTTENBERG: Alright, well I have a date so I’m either going to do one of the two things you just said, or maybe both.

CARPENTER: I’m glad that one of us is having a sexy summer.

OTTENBERG: Well, you’ll probably have a sexy fall. Here’s to September, when this cover comes out.

CARPENTER: I’m more of a sexy autumn anyways.

OTTENBERG: Well, sleep tight, Sabrina.

CARPENTER: Thank you. You too. Wink, wink.

OTTENBERG: [Laughs] Bye.

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Hair: Evanie Frausto using Redken Shades EQ at Streeters.
Makeup: Jezz Hill at CLM.
Nails: Zola Ganzorigt using OPI at The Wall Group.
Tan Artist: Jenni Blafer.
Set Design: Lauren Nikrooz at 11th House Agency.
Tailor: Shirlee Idzakovich at The Zaks Group.
Market Direction: Lucy Gaston.
Lighting Technician: Isaac Rosenthal.
Photography Assistant: Andrew Espinal.
Fashion Assistants: Nicholson Baird and Abby McDade.
Hair Assistants: Austin Weber and Courtney Peak.
Makeup Assistant: Chelsea Rachel.
Set Design Assistants: Benjamin Bridges and Kevin Mazile.
Photography Intern: Isaac James Levy.
Production: Alexandra Weiss and Mara Weinstein.
Production Management: Tyler DeMauro.
Production Coordination: Caroline Bates.
Production Assistants: Chancey Bridges and Abby Lorenzini.
Post-Production: Other Color.
Location: NYC Film Locations.
Special Thanks: Anima Studios and SexyShoes.com.