Sabrina Carpenter reveals new album art 'approved by God' after outcry

Sabrina Carpenter has revealed alternative artwork "approved by God" for her new album after the original cover sparked controversy.

Earlier in June, the Espresso singer shared art for her album, Man's Best Friend, which shows her on her hands and knees in a black minidress with a suited man grabbing her hair.

The photo prompted a heated debate, with some arguing that it pandered to the male gaze and promoted misogynistic stereotypes.

On Wednesday, the pop princess posted two less contentious black-and-white images of herself holding a suited man's arm, with the caption: "Here is a new alternate cover approved by God."

Users responding to Carpenter's post on Instagram included fellow pop star Katy Perry, who simply replied: "Gahahahaha."

Man's Best Friend is Carpenter's seventh studio album and will be released on 29 August. Fans can purchase the album with either set of artwork.

Those criticising the initial artwork included Glasgow Women's Aid, a charity supporting victims of domestic abuse, which said it was "regressive" and "promotes an element of violence and control".

Not everyone was against it, and some defended the singer, explaining that the image was satirical.

"There's a deeper meaning, portraying how the public views her, believing she is just for the male gaze," a fan wrote on X.

But Heather Binning of Women's Rights Network, told the BBC that violence against women should "never be used as satire".

Many of Carpenter's fans are young women, and Ms Binning said the imagery "grooms girls to believe that it is a fun, casual, sexy thing to submit to men's sexual (sometimes sexually violent) desires".

On social media, some also criticised Carpenter for the timing, suggesting the image was not appropriate given the current political climate in the US.

"Women's control over their bodies are being taken away in the US and this is kind of insensitive," one user wrote on Instagram.

Professor Catherine Rottenberg from Goldsmiths University of London said that regardless of how the artwork should be interpreted, Carpenter was "fanning the flames of controversy in order to sell her brand".

"Debates around representation that this album has already generated will likely mean more sales, more popularity, and more traction," she told the BBC.

It is not the first time the 26-year-old's music has sparked an outcry.

Carpenter has built her brand around fun and risque pop music, and her sexual lyrics, X-rated ad-lib Nonsense outros and provocative performances regularly cause a stir.

At the Brit Awards in March, media watchdog Ofcom received 825 complaints, with the majority involving Carpenter's pre-watershed opening performance that saw her wearing a red sparkly military-style mini-dress with matching stockings and suspenders.

She was also seen having a close encounter with a dancer dressed as a soldier wearing a bearskin hat during the show, which was broadcast live on ITV.

Lucy Ford, a culture critic, previously told the BBC that Carpenter is "in on the joke" when she performs.

"Sabrina is being unabashedly horny in her music and it feels like an embrace of fun and silliness and not taking things too seriously."