Was Sabrina Carpenter inspired by 'Lolita’ for her W Magazine photoshoot? Singer shuts down speculations
Sabrina Carpenter recently shut down speculations that her September 2024 photoshoot with W Magazine was inspired by Lolita. These claims emerged in the wake of the singer unveiling the cover art for her upcoming album, Man's Best Friend, featuring her kneeling on all fours in front of an anonymous man, who is holding a fistful of her blond hair.
Following the album art's release and the subsequent outrage on social media, many netizens took to poring over Sabrina Carpenter's earlier photoshoots, fixating on her pictures for W Magazine. Many drew parallels between one of the pictures from the photoshoot and a still from the 1997 film Lolita, wondering if the singer took inspiration from the film.
However, Carpenter denied the accusations in a comment under a TikTok video dissecting the photoshoot, writing:
“i’ve never seen this movie. it’s never been on my mood board and never would be.”
For the uninitiated, Lolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, a Russian-American author, published in 1955. Lolita was adapted into a movie in 1997. It follows protagonist Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged man who develops an unhealthy fascination with 12-year-old Dolores Haze (whom he nicknames Lolita), leading to him marrying her mother to take advantage of her.
In the 1997 movie, Lolita is seen in a white dress lying on the grass and reading during one scene. Her dress gets drenched when the sprinklers go off.
In Sabrina Carpenter's W Magazine photoshoot, the 26-year-old singer struck a similar pose in an identical background, leading many to believe this shoot was inspired by Lolita.
Exploring Sabrina Carpenter's response to criticisms of alleged hypers*xualization
This is not the first time Sabrina Carpenter has defended herself against criticisms of engaging in hypers*xualization through her music, outfits, and performances. One of the more memorable segments from her recent "Short n' Sweet Tour" featured her mimicking a s*x position during her song Juno while asking her audience, "Have you ever tried this one?"
The segment divided the internet, with Sabrina Carpenter receiving equal parts praise and backlash. Carpenter responded to the criticisms during her June interview with Rolling Stone, claiming that people popularized the segment solely due to the s*xual factor despite the existence of several non-s*xual moments throughout her show.
“It’s always so funny to me when people complain. They’re like, ‘All she does is sing about this.’ But those are the songs that you’ve made popular. Clearly you love s*x. You’re obsessed with it. It’s in my show. There’s so many more moments than the ‘Juno’ positions, but those are the ones you post every night and comment on. I can’t control that. If you come to the show, you’ll [also] hear the ballads, you’ll hear the more introspective numbers,” she said.
On June 11, Sabrina Carpenter courted controversy after unveiling the album cover of her upcoming project. According to People Magazine, Carpenter defended herself again after an X user questioned if she had a "personality outside of s*x," to which she responded:
“girl yes and it is goooooood.”
In other news, Sabrina Carpenter's latest single, Manchild, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts following its release on June 5. This marked Carpenter's first No. 1 debut on the Billboard charts and her fourth Top 10 on the Hot 100 charts.
The song is promoted as the lead single for her upcoming album, Man's Best Friend, scheduled for release on August 29, 2025.
