Carly Simon Defends Sabrina Carpenter’s Artwork for Man’s Best Friend: “It Seems Tame”

Amid debates around the artwork for Sabrina Carpenter’s new album, Man’s Best Friend, Carly Simon — one of the few who’ve faced similar scrutiny — has come to the “Espresso” singer’s defense, even though she thinks the photo goes “over the line a little bit.”

Carpenter unveiled the controversy-sparking artwork — depicting her on her knees with a hand reaching for a man’s thigh as he grabs her hair — last week, and critics have since called it anti-feminist and over-sexualized. To Simon, though, it “seems tame.”

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Speaking to Rolling Stone, the “You’re So Vain” singer reflected on her own experiences getting flak for over-sexualization, specifically in regard to the artwork for her 1975 release Playing Possum, on which she’s getting up from the floor in a scantily-fitting negligee. At the time, music retailers and some of Simon’s fans — even her own mom — felt the artwork went too far, but she never saw it as anything radical. Now, she views Carpenter’s artwork in a similar light.

“She’s not doing anything outrageous,” Simon told Rolling Stone. “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.”

To that end, though, Simon offered Carpenter some advice, stressing not to stress too much about the fallout. “Any press is good press, so I wouldn’t worry about the press,” she said. “And as far as her being salacious, I certainly don’t think it’s that. I mean, look at all of the people who dress much more scantily. She’s so beautiful, and she should be proud of herself and the way she looks. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

Nonetheless, Simon did identify one element of the artwork that went a little too far, even for her: “Touching the man’s knee,” she said. “I thought it was going over the line a little bit… I thought she didn’t have to do that.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Simon expressed her gratitude for the younger generation of pop stars who have embraced her, alluding to cover renditions of “You’re So Vain” by Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo. “I love it that the younger girls are discovering me, and that I’ve had attention from them,” she said.

Meanwhile, Man’s Best Friend is due in full on August 29th, and will include the Song of the Week and No. 1 hit single, “Manchild.” In October, she will hit the road for a new round of “Short n’ Sweet Tour” dates (get tickets here).