Sabrina Carpenter Confronts ’Horndog’ Image in SNL Hosting Debut
New York, NY – Sabrina Carpenter addressed and playfully subverted perceptions of her public image during her first time hosting Saturday Night Live on October 18th. The “Manchild” singer, who previously appeared as a musical guest in May 2024 and as part of the SNL50 special in Febuary 2025, used her opening monologue to directly acknowledge and joke about being labeled a “horndog pop star.”
Carpenter began by stating she wanted to “clear up some misconceptions,” then delivered a self-aware bit: “Everyone thinks of me as this, like, horndog pop star, but there’s really so much more to me.I’m not just horny. I’m also turned on and I’m sexually charged. And I love to read.My favorite book is the encyclopedia. It’s so big and it’s hard…”
The monologue also touched on the controversy surrounding the cover art for her recent album, Man’s Best Friend. Carpenter explained the image,which depicts her on all fours with an unseen figure pulling her hair,was misinterpreted. “Some people got a little freaked out by the cover. I’m not sure why,” she said. “It was just this me on all fours with an unseen figure pulling my hair,.But what people don’t realize is, that’s just how they cropped it. If you zoom out, it’s clearly a picture from the 50th anniversary special of Bowen (Yang) helping me up by the hair…after Martin short shoved me out of the buffet line.”
Carpenter further emphasized a desire to be seen as more than just a provocative image, noting, “There is a real person underneath all the sparkles and the wigs and the corsets.” She punctuated this point by engaging in a playful exchange with a fan, Will from Maryland, expressing mock excitement over his location. “Ooh, what a sexy, unusual place. See, I love talking to normal people. They’re so captivating when they’re real like you.”