Sabrina Carpenter has responded to the controversy surrounding her BRIT Awards 2025 performance.
During Saturday night’s (March 1) ceremony, Carpenter took home the Global Success Award and was also nominated for two further prizes for International Artist Of The Year and International Song Of The Year for ‘Espresso’, but lost out to Chappell Roan for both.
It was her performance, however, that made headlines. The singer opened the show with a version of 2024 megahit ‘Espresso’, alongside a troop of dancing King’s Guards, before she segued into a seductive performance of ‘Bed Chem’, dancing on a giant pink bed, alongside a team of backing dancers with their own boudoirs.
One choice moment that proved controversial saw her kneel in front of a male dancer, who winked at the camera as she disappeared offscreen.
Since then, viewers have been debating whether the performance was appropriate, given that it kicked off before the 9pm watershed – which refers to the time of day when TV programmes which might be unsuitable for children can be broadcast.
Some, like one user on X/Twitter who called it “iconic”, saw the funny side. However, many expressed that the provocative moments were “unnecessary”, with one viewer writing: “It’s like watching live pornography. It’s supposed to be a family show.”
Sabrina Carpenter has a lovely voice & is a stunning woman, why on earth does she feel the need to open her legs? It’s like watching live pornography. It’s supposed to be a family show! #TheBrits #BRITs #SabrinaCarpenter pic.twitter.com/Us4Fc7YC9O
— 𝓛𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓸𝓷 𝓛𝓪𝓭𝔂 ❥🪬✡︎🕊 (@ThatLondonLady) March 1, 2025
Now, Sabrina Carpenter has responded to the controversy in a newly-shared Instagram post. “I now know what watershed is!!!!” she joked in a caption above a carousel of photos from the night.
The ‘Please Please Please’ singer has previously addressed the way she leverages sexuality in her shows, having recently hit out at Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman’s comments about her, after Waterman named her as someone whose image he considered detrimental to women in an interview with The Sun, saying: “If you’re asking to be respected, don’t come on in a G-string,” before Stock dismissed Carpenter’s sexualised lyrics as “lazy”.
The ‘Please, Please, Please’ singer then responded in a follow-up interview with The Sun on Sunday, saying: “My message has always been clear – if you can’t handle a girl who is confident in her own sexuality, then don’t come to my shows.”
She added that women being judged on their appearance “isn’t something new”, saying: “Female artists have been shamed forever. In the noughties it was Rihanna, in the nineties it was Britney Spears, in the eighties it was Madonna – and now it’s me. It’s essentially saying that female performers should not be able to embrace their sexuality in their lyrics, in the way we dress, in the way we perform.
“It is totally regressive. It’s like those who want to shame don’t make comments when I talk about self-care or body positivity or heartbreak, which are all normal things a 25-year-old goes through. They just want to talk about the sexual side of my performances.”