Sabrina Carpenter dropped her seventh album, “Man’s Best Friend,” on Friday – approximately one year after her Grammy Award winning album “Short n’ Sweet.”

“I was just going through a lot and I was like, ‘well, I could either, you know, sit and sulk about it, or I could write about it,’ and it doesn’t mean I have to put any of this out,” Carpenter told “CBS Mornings” about creating the album.

In an exclusive interview, the superstar spoke about her new music, songwriting process and the viral debate around her original album cover.

For “Man’s Best Friend,” Carpenter worked with familiar collaborators, including Jack Antonoff, John Ryan and Amy Allen.

“It felt like a band in a lot of ways. Like, someone’s on the drums, and someone’s over here playing the synth and then we’re on the tambourine. … Then I’m cutting vocals. We’re all doing gang vocals together,” she said regarding the album.

Carpenter described having “many different processes” while writing her songs – but highlighted lyrics and concepts come first.

“When I started, you know, becoming more sexual as a person, I think it’s just something that’s a part of life. You want to write about it,” she said. “I didn’t realize it was as taboo of a topic until I started writing about it more freely.”

The Grammy Award winner gave insight into a few of the songs on the new album.

For “Never Getting Laid,” she revealed, “that one was a bit of a turning point for me because I’m so used to writing bitter songs and this one felt like being bitter but with a lot of sweetness.”

She said “Don’t Worry, I’ll Make You Worry” “sounds like a threat, but it’s, like, it’s all just said with a wink. It’s said with, like, a pat on the back. I think that is the way that I communicate.”

While fans speculate who her music is about, Carpenter maintained she wouldn’t say.

“It’s more fun for people to picture in their head than the person I picture in my head, I think,” Carpenter said.

“I feel pretty transparent going into any of my relationships, that I write songs and I think they’re just as down for it. I think it’s also, most of the time, they’ve been pretty flattered when I … when they get a song written about them, good or bad.”

Carpenter admits that her music may not be for everyone, saying, “you don’t have to like what I do.  I think there’s this weird misconception that every artist has to check every box for everyone to like everything about them.”

She just hopes her fans she’s speaking to through her music feel the connection and can relate.

“Then I’m happy,” she said.

The pop star has previously said she thinks of her life and music like a movie, saying “there’s like a lot of suspenseful music. There’s some cliff hangers sometimes. It’s truly an up-and-down.”

While describing her own life as versatile, she said she’s currently, “in a lovely place.”

Album cover debate

Prior to the release of her new music, a debate ensued over Carpenter’s original album cover for “Man’s Best Friend,” shocking the singer.

“I think between me and my friends and my family and the people that I always share my music and my art with first, it was … it just wasn’t even a conversation. It was just, like, it’s perfect. For what the album is, it’s perfect for, you know, kind of what it represents.”

The cover depicted Carpenter kneeling on the ground. An individual is standing next to her with Carpenter’s hand on the person’s thigh as they’re pulling her hair.

She said her intention was to keep the cover open to interpretation.

“My interpretation is being in on the control. Being in on your lack of control and when you want to be in control,” Carpenter said. “I think as a young woman, you’re just as aware of when you’re in control as when you’re not.”

She explained the album for her was about “the humanity of allowing yourself to make those mistakes.”

Carpenter said she tries to take the critical comments lightly.

“My fans that know me and know the person behind the music will look at that photo and they know exactly what it is. People that have no idea who I am absolutely look at that photo and go, like, ‘where are her parents?'”

“My parents actually saw the photo and they loved it,” she said.

Friendship with Taylor Swift

Carpenter opened for Taylor Swift on the Eras tour.

She’s also featured on a song in Swift’s upcoming album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” which will be released Oct. 3.

While Carpenter wouldn’t reveal anything about the song, she spoke about the opportunity, saying, “I’ve been looking up to her (Swift) since I was, … I remember the first time I heard a song by her. I was 8 years old on the school bus, and I was … just like my life was changed.”

She also expressed her excitement for Swift following the announcement of her engagement to Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, saying she wasn’t surprised at how big the reaction was from fans.

“I’m just happy for them,” Carpenter said.

Julia Roberts came forward to defend Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt while tackling tough “MeToo” questions.

For the unversed, the 57-year-old American actress defended her new film After the Hunt at a press conference in Venice by answering tough questions about the movie’s message on “MeToo” and cancel culture.

In the forthcoming movie, Roberts plays the role of a college professor, Alma Olsson, who finds herself at a crucial stage of life as her student (Edebiri) accuses her colleague Henrik Gibson, played by Andrew Garfield, and a pal of crossing a line.

The Notting Hill star brushed aside a question about whether After the Hunt was sabotaging the feminist movement. The journalist claimed the film has “caused controversy” among the festivalgoers, as they felt it “revives old arguments” about believing women who do not confine themselves in a room after being s**ually assaulted but rather speak up.

Instead of answering the question, Roberts stated she wants the movie to help initiate difficult conversations.

With a laugh, she said, “Not to be disagreeable, because it’s not in my nature, but the thing you said that I love is it ‘revives old arguments.’ I don’t think it’s just reviving an argument of women being pitted against each other or not supporting each other. There are a lot of old arguments that get rejuvenated that creates conversation.”

The Oscar winner added, “The best part of your question is that you all came out of the theater talking about it. That’s how we wanted it to feel. You realize what you believe in strongly because we stir it all up for you. So, you’re welcome.”

Roberts went on to deny claims that the film was trying to stir controversy, emphasising that society is “losing the art of conversation in humanity right now.”

“We’re not making statements; we are portraying these people in this moment in time. I don’t know about controversy, per se, but we are challenging people to have conversation. To be excited or infuriated about it is up to you. If making this movie does anything, getting everybody to talk to each other is the most exciting thing that I think we could accomplish,” she quipped.

Before concluding, it is pertinent to mention that After the Hunt will be released on October 10, 2025.

Timothee Chalamet is THE star on the set of Dune 3 in Hungary and takes full advantage of his power, per an insider.

Being the lead star of the Dune franchise, the hunk works hard, but he also parties hard during his downtime. However, his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, is thousands of miles away in the U.S.

An insider told Radar Online that the actor is the King on set, adding, “But he’s trying to be a benevolent one and has no problem charming and joking with every woman on the set because that just comes naturally to him.”

His on-set banter serves to “lighten the mood around the scenes he’s shooting, where his character Paul has taken an extremely dark and menacing turn.”

And yet, the Wonka star’s partying is without the watchful eye of Khy founder Kylie.

“Timmy is working 18-hour days to get this thing in the can, but he’s also partying hard with his fellow young cast and crew members whenever they have a stretch of free time,” revealed the mole.

“He’s a ‘work hard, play hard’ guy through and through, and that goes double when he’s on the other side of the world from Kylie,” they added.

The insider also claimed that since the 29-year-old is the lead in the film, he’s “as important on set as a Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt.”

“As likable as Timmy is, it’s a little weird for an actor that young to have so much power,” the source remarked.

Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner have been linked since April 2023 and have flaunted their relationship at the Golden Globes and more awards.