In Sabrina Carpenter’s cover story for the July-August 2025 issue of Rolling Stone, written by Angie Martoccio and shot by David LaChapelle, the Grammy-winning artist addressed the online tabloid gossip about her life, and she doesn’t give a damn. It might sound flippant coming from someone with a past in Disney’s Girl Meets World back in 2014, but that indifference is exactly what separates her from most pop singers today. In a culture built on over-exposure and constant image control, Carpenter has taken the long way ‘round by embracing chaos, refusing to let anyone dictate her music.
She is rewriting the playbook while dunked in a four-degree ice bath at 9 a.m. in London, laced in powder blue and laughing through the cold for her Rolling Stone interview with Martoccio. Carpenter is not here to sell vulnerability in a neat, palatable package. She is here to prove that humor, heartbreak, and confidence can all live under the same breath. Her “raunchy” live shows have sparked complaints from parents, but she makes it clear that she is not interested in changing her image.
“I love entertaining, but I also sometimes love shutting the fuck up and being to myself,” she says in the interview. “Observing, reading, watching, and listening. I spend a lot of time in my own head, which is good and bad.” Carpenter carries her contradictions without apology. Throughout the cover story, a question about her alleged beef with former Disney star Olivia Rodrigo was brought up, to which Carpenter immediately gave a nonchalant response, “I don’t think about it, ever.”
Carpenter is fluent in the internet, but she is even more fluent in her craft. Her punchlines land because it rests on songwriting that cuts deep. When she throws out, “It’s about your dad,” it is more than a joke. It is a weapon, and she knows exactly how to use it.
Last year’s Short n’ Sweet shattered every tired label that had stuck to her name. Now with her forthcoming album Man’s Best Friend coming out on August 29 with a co-sign from Dolly Parton, she is ready to burn whatever outdated idea is left of what a young female pop star should be. It might sound like a reinvention, but that would overlook the considerable effort it took to get here.
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