Sabrina Carpenter has told critics of her raunchy performances to stay away from her concerts.
The ‘Espresso’ hitmaker has faced criticism for her risque dance routines, suggestive lyrics and skimpy outfits but she expressed her frustration that female stars are still being “shamed” for being comfortable with who they are.
She told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “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.
“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.”
The 25-year-old singer hit out at the “regressive” attitude and claimed her critics ignore all the positive elements of her work.
She added: “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.”
Sabrina thinks it is important for women to support one another in the face of such attitudes.
She said: “As women, we can look at another woman and be like, ‘Oh, she has the perfect body’.
“But if you were to ask the woman you think has a perfect body, I guarantee she will have her own insecurities.
“That’s why as women we need to be kind to each other.”
The ‘Please Please Please’ singer shot to fame playing Maya Hart in ‘Girl Meets World’ between 2014 and 2017 but she’s never felt “trapped” by her Disney background.
She explained: “I think there is this inaccurate belief that if you have once been a Disney star, you need this wild transition to show you aren’t a kid any more.
“I don’t buy into that all. I didn’t ever think I had to pick certain projects to show I had moved on.
“I just picked the projects that excited me.”