Rule Britannia: Sabrina’s short ‘n’ sweet set to storm Glasgow after Brits Beefeater controversy
By Amy Pearson
Sabrina Carpenter is set to play the only Scottish stop on her Short n’ Sweet tour in Glasgow tonight, but the popstar’s recent performances have not gone without scrutiny.
Her opening show at the Brits Awards ceremony at the O2 in London earlier this month resulted in 825 Ofcom complaints from unhappy viewers of the risqué pre-watershed production.
The star entered to the tune of ‘Rule Britannia’ wearing a bedazzled solider-inspired outfit before a quick change into a red lingerie bodysuit to perform a medley of her hits, ‘Espresso’ and ‘Bed Chem’ surrounded by Union Jacks and back-up dancers dressed as King’s Guards.
The Brit-ified performance ruffled the feathers of parents, in particular, with many flocking to social media to complain that it was unsuitable to be aired before 9pm as it was not family friendly.
One angry viewer posted on X: “As a dad of 11 and 13 year old girls I am fuming that this was the opening scenes of #BRITs2025,” with another saying: “Lots of little girls watching this. Learning that female artists have to dress & perform like a prostitute to become famous…”
The singer started her career on Disney channel as a teenager and grew in popularity over the years, and the release of her 6th studio album, Short n’ Sweet last year solidified her position as a pop princess.
This title has not come without its flaws, however, and her Brits performance is not the only thing she has received backlash for. Parts of the music video for her song, Feather, were filmed in a Catholic church which resulted in waves of controversy for being “disrespectful”. People have also been keen to share their opinions on TikTok and other social media platforms about her current album tour, claiming that the setlist and choreography is inappropriate for her younger demographic.
That being said, as fans get ready to attend the concert at the OVO Hydro tonight, people of Glasgow share the same opinion that it is not down to the artist to censor her shows for younger audiences when she has not marketed herself in this way.
One fan said: “Parents should be aware by now the nature of her performances and if they are allowing their kids to attend, they need to accept that it’s their responsibility not hers. You don’t sneak your child into a cinema for a film you know is inappropriate then blame the director.”
Another Glaswegian was of the view that she is a female artist in a male dominated field and, “the backlash is never there when these conversations surround male artists and their depictions of women, yet all of a sudden it’s a young, successful female and questions are instantly raised of her ability to be a role model for children.”
It appears to be a general consensus that the popstar’s songs and shows are not aimed at children, and never have been, so these claims of being inappropriate seem to be slightly misplaced, and could be argued that they stem from misogyny.
This is not a new narrative when it comes to female starts with roots in the likes of Disney, as has been the case in the past with Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato when they have tried to branch away and re-brand themselves in their own image. As proven with Sabrina Carpenter, history tends to repeat itself.
