Sabrina Carpenter's provocative 'Juno' performances have led some fans to compare her treatment to the backlash Sydney Sweeney faces over her Novig campaign. Sweeney appears nearly nude in the advertisement, using sports equipment for coverage, prompting criticism from female athletes over how it portrays women in sport.
Fans questioned whether Sweeney would face even greater backlash if she adopted the same level of sexualised humour as Carpenter. One social media user wrote online, 'If Sweeney did this, people would bring back the Salem witch trials just for her'.
Carpenter's Stage Routine
Since introducing it in Paris on 17 March 2025, Carpenter's Eiffel Tower-themed 'Juno' routine has faced backlash, especially because younger fans can attend her concerts.
Luminate's 2024 data found that Gen Z accounted for 31% of Carpenter's audience, while Vogue reported that 67% of her TikTok audience was aged 18 to 24.
Their criticism centres on the sexualised nature of the routine and the fact that Carpenter changes the position from night to night, which some view as unnecessary.
A 'PG' Request
Carpenter has been testing that boundary for years. At BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Luton in May 2024, she turned a request to keep her performance PG – free of explicit or sexual material – into a joke during the improvised outro of her song 'Nonsense'.
'BBC said I should keep it PG, she sang. 'BBC, I wish I had it in me. There's a double meaning if you dig deep.'
The line called back to a 2023 BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge performance in which Carpenter had already played on the double meaning of 'BBC'. The broadcaster removed the original video and re-uploaded an edited version without the outro.
Sydney Sweeney Faces Backlash
Since its 9 September launch, Sweeney's Novig campaign has faced criticism from people online, including several female athletes, parenting creators and others concerned about betting and gambling environments.
Critics have questioned the sexualisation of women in sport and the campaign's use of Sweeney's body alongside sporting imagery, which they view as unnecessary.
However, many noted that these examples differ, as Carpenter's routines form part of a live concert built around a song, rather than appearing in an advertisement.
One Reddit user pointed to what they saw as a double standard in the comparison.
Another user replied to her comment, asking, 'Is this a serious answer? Or sarcasm?'.
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A Different 2025 Debate
The two stars have been compared before, though in a different context.
In June 2025, Carpenter faced backlash over the original cover of her album Man's Best Friend, which showed her on all fours while a faceless man held her by the hair.
At the time, people compared the imagery with Sweeney's Dr Squatch bathwater soap promotion, which drew backlash for using sexualised imagery to market a product.
The Comparison Continues
Fans are now asking what Sweeney's public image would look like if she adopted the same provocative approach Carpenter uses onstage.
The debate also points to a broader tension in how the media and audiences view female sexuality.
Similar displays can draw very different reactions depending on the woman, the setting and the context, raising questions about who gets to define the line between sexual expression and controversy.
