Sabrina Carpenter hits back at 'regressive' comments made by Simon Cowell's rival Pete Waterman who branded her sexy image 'offensive'

Sabrina Carpenter has hit back at 'regressive' comments made by Simon Cowell's rival Pete Waterman who branded her sexy image 'offensive'.

The Espresso hitmaker, 25, was hit by claims earlier this week that her image is 'too raunchy' and that she is 'setting back women's rights' in scathing comments.

English songwriting and record production trio Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete slammed the singer's sexy look and lyrics as 'lazy'.

Sabrina has become known for her cheeky lyrics and scantily-clad stage costumes - but the music moguls have now hit out at her approach.

Pete, 78, has claimed the star dresses as a little girl which he finds 'offensive' and believes she doesn't need to sexualise her image because she has raw talent.

The former Pop Stars judge claimed that he would have been 'killed' if he had instructed artists to do the same thing 30 years ago, saying that Madonna was the only performer who ever came close to doing the same thing.  

But now Sabrina has hit back at the scathing comments saying female artists have always been shamed for showing off their sexual side. 

She told The Sun: '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.

'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.'

Earlier this week Mike, 73, said: 'They've [women] won all of their freedoms and their rights, women. They fought for everything they've got and now they're throwing it away, is the way I would look at it.'

Pete added: 'It's just crazy. If you're asking to be respected, don't come on in a G-string.'

As well as her racy looks, the record producers also took aim at her steamy lyrics, after referring to sex positions in her songs Juno and Bed Chem, which is about being compatible with someone in the bedroom.

Branding them 'lazy', Mike said: 'I would never try to write a lyric that said anything specific on a sexual level. You'd always be allegorical or allude to it somehow. So I don't like that. I think it's a bad show and it's lazy. You're going to grab some form of attention by doing that.'

While Pete and Mike may have struck out at Sabrina and other female stars in the industry, many of the artists who they've worked with over the years have also boasted a sexualised image in order to flog records.

Some of these eighties acts included glamour model and Page Three girl Sam Fox who turned her hand to music with their help.

Kylie Minogue - famed for her sexy image - is the company's most famous export and they also worked with Sinitta, who has suggestive lyrics in many of her songs.  

Their comments came as they attended an unveiling of a blue plaque from the  Southwark Heritage Association at Vine Yard Studios in London.

The studio is the location where the threesome created their innumerable pop anthems.

It was previously reported that Sabrina struggled to adjust to her current image and initially felt like she was 'playing a character,' after record bosses suggested she overhaul her look in a bid to achieve the same success as fellow artists Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift.

Sabrina enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past year, with chart topping singles Espresso and Please Please Please finally cementing her status as a household name after years of trying to get her break.

But insiders claim her newfound popularity is a result of embracing a 'sexpot' image and extremely tongue-in-cheek demeanor after joining Island Records in 2021 - a move which has reportedly left some struggling to recognize the former Disney star.

'She didn't connect with a mass audience and drastic changes needed to be made,' a source told DailyMail.com exclusively.

'With a new record label [Island] and new management she was guided to ditch her everyday image and pivot 180 and sell herself as a 'sexpot'.'  

Despite appearing at ease with her racy songs lyrics and revealing ensembles - even going as far as hitting back at trolls who have slammed her sexy tour outfits - Sabrina initially struggled with her image overhaul.

'It made her very uncomfortable as behind closed doors she wears sweats, little make up, and likes to stay home and watch Netflix,' the insider continued. 

'She'd been a Disney girl and was told the importance of a wholesome image like Hilary Duff and Selena Gomez before her.

'To suddenly be showing skin and flaunting it while singing provocative lyrics was initially a challenge. She had to embrace her acting skills, but it worked.'

Despite her mainstream success, the source added that she sometimes feels like a 'fraud' who is 'playing a character.'

Another source claimed she was prepared to do 'whatever it took' after signing with Island Records.

'Sabrina knows she has to just let go and accept that she will have to become a commercial product to establish herself,' they said. 'It is no different to what Britney, Gaga or Katy Perry did. They know what will sell and she will do that until she is at a place where she is able to call the shots.

'She has always known that it was her voice that will make her famous. She has a sound not out there. She knows this.'

A third insider added: 'Producers presented a more grown-up version of her and put the rocket ship on her back and actually gave her good music and now she is more adult, more sexed up.

'If the talent wasn't there, she'd be forgotten, but she is now a bonafide pop star who is also being considered for roles in major movies.'

Sabrina started out on Disney, playing Maya Hart in Girl Meets World from 2014 until 2017.

She also released four albums with the Disney-owned label Hollywood Records between 2015 and 2019, as well as acting in films including The Hate U Give, Tall Girl, Adventures In Babysitting and The Short History of the Long Road.

After her move to Island Records, she made headlines after fans claimed she was the mystery 'blonde girl' who Olivia Rodrigo was singing about in her heartbreak anthem, Driver's License.

The internet was flooded with articles, videos and social media posts as people tried desperately to work out if Sabrina had stolen her then-boyfriend, and fellow Disney star Joshua Bassett, from his High School Musical: The Musical: The Series costar Olivia.    

Sabrina and Joshua dated in 2020 and were spotted lunching together around LA. They also shared sweet snaps of them dressed up as Shark Boy and Lava Girl for Halloween that same year.

In her track, Olivia sang: 'And you're probably with that blonde girl / Who always made me doubt. She's so much older than me / She's everything I'm insecure about.'

It didn't take long for fans to put two and two together as Sabrina is four years older and dated Joshua right after Olivia.

Sabrina dropped her first album with Island, Emails I Can't Send, the following year. 

The album featured Skin, a response track to Olivia's Driver's License, in which she sang: 'Maybe then we could pretend / There's no gravity in the words we write / Maybe you didn't mean it / Maybe blonde was the only rhyme...

'You can try/ To get under my, under my, under my skin/ While he's on mine/ Yeah, all on my, all on my, all on my skin.'

However it was her cheeky track, Nonsense which became a standout for the star.

In 2023 she was announced as the opening act for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour across dates in Latin America, Australia and Singapore. 

During the tour, she delighted fans with explicit outros for Nonsense - beginning her steady transition into pop's newest 'sexpot.'

During a performance in Dallas, she sang: 'I just wanna ride him like a rodeo/ but first, he gotta grow it like Pinocchio/ Sorry I'm so vulgar San Antonio.'

Last year she achieved her first number-one song on the UK Singles Chart with Espresso, which also dominated the airwaves in the US.

Her follow-up single Please Please Please now has the distinction of being her first number-one song on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Her sixth and latest album Short n' Sweet topped the Billboard 200 and has since been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Of America (RIAA).

It features the single Taste which also topped the UK Singles Chart and reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. 

The track appears to reference Shawn Mendes and the love triangle she got into with his ex-girlfriend, Camila Cabello. 

She shared a steamy kiss with Wednesday star Jenna Ortega in the music video and copied the smooch with a backing dancer while performing the number at the 2024 Video Music Awards.

Sabrina kicked off her tour in support of her Short n' Sweet album on September 23 in Columbus, Ohio.

The singer stunned fans as she hit the stage wearing a number of racy outfits, showed off sexy dance moves, used a number of swear words and did shots on stage. 

She previously hit back at 'trolls' who have criticized her costumes, telling them: 'Don't come to the show.'

Speaking in her cover interview for TIME Magazine's TIME100 Next list, she said: 'It's unfortunate that it's ever been something to criticize, because truthfully, the scariest thing in the world is getting up on a stage in front of that many people and having to perform as if it's nothing.

'If the one thing that helps you do that is the way you feel comfortable dressing, then that's what you've got to do.'

The star isn't scared to strip off having happily modelled Kim Kardashian's Skims brand for the Spring campaign back in May 2023.

She is also known to share a number of racy snaps with fans online, while her favoured lingerie theme is also part of the design for her merch.