Carly Simon has defended Sabrina Carpenter amid controversy over the cover of her upcoming album Man's Best Friend.
The Espresso hitmaker faced backlash last week when she unveiled the suggestive artwork for her upcoming seventh album, Man's Best Friend. The provocative image features Carpenter kneeling on the floor and touching a man's knee while he grabs her hair.
Simon, who experienced a similar backlash in the 1970s, has now come to Carpenter's defence, insisting that she doesn't understand why Carpenter is "getting such flak" over such a "tame" photograph.
"She's not doing anything outrageous," she told Rolling Stone. "It seems tame. There have been far flashier covers than hers. One of the most startling covers I've ever seen was (The Rolling Stones') Sticky Fingers. That was out there in terms of sexual attitude. So I don't know why she's getting such flak."
However, later in the interview, the 81-year-old added with a chuckle, "I thought it was going over the line a little bit, touching the man's knee. I thought she didn't have to do that."
The You're So Vain hitmaker caused a similar stir in 1975 with the cover for her album Playing Possum. In the black-and-white photo, she can be seen on her knees in a black negligee and boots.
Last week, Carpenter, 26, defended the artwork herself when a user on X asked if the pop star had a personality "outside of sex". She replied, "Girl yes and it is goooooood (sic)."
Man's Best Friend, which comes hot on the heels of her 2024 album Short n' Sweet, will be released on 29 August.
