Sabrina Carpenter has grown up from her Disney Channel days and wants fans to do the same.
The Man's Best Friend artist got her start as a child actress, starring in Disney Channel sitcom Girl Meets World as protagonist Maya Hart for three seasons. Carpenter also acted in teen flicks The Hate U Give and Tall Girl, released years before her breakthrough fifth album, Short n' Sweet. With her 2024 LP, and now, Man's Best Friend, which was released in August, Carpenter has been more suggestive in her lyrics and image, which has shocked some fans considering her career start.
In a new interview with Variety, the two-time Grammy winner addressed those who haven't let her mature from being a Disney star.
"I think it wouldn’t matter so much if I wasn’t a childhood figure for some people," Carpenter told the publication. "But I also can’t really help that. It’s not my fault that I got a job when I was 12 and you won’t let me evolve."
The artist also reflected on her favorite female artists from childhood, who would openly sing about their sexuality, much like Carpenter does in her current music.
"I always thought, 'When I grow up, then I get to embrace my sexuality more. I don’t even know what that means yet!" the "Manchild" singer told Variety. "I don’t think they do. I wish I’d had more open conversations about all of it when I was younger, but people feel too scared to talk about it."
Carpenter went on share that she "boundaries" for herself, but wants to remember this time in her career as a point when she "didn't hold back."
"I wore the skirts I wanted to wear; I spoke about things in a way that I won’t regret, because I was very open. I think that’s all that matters," she said.
Before the release of Man's Best Friend, Carpenter caused a stir for the album's suggestive artwork, which depicts her kneeling on the ground while having her hair grabbed by a mystery man. In August, Carpenter appeared on CBS Mornings, where she insisted that her parents "loved" the album cover.
“Y’all need to get out more, I think,” the singer told CBS Mornings anchor Gayle King. “I was actually shocked because between me, my friends, family, and the people I always share my music and art with first, it just wasn’t even a conversation. It was just like, it’s perfect for what the album is [and] what it represents.”
