Sabrina Carpenter is keeping it short n’ sweet when it comes to rumors that she had to ask her friend, Taylor Swift, permission to work with Kim Kardashian‘s shapewear brand, SKIMS.
In April, amid opening for Swift during her global Eras World Tour, Carpenter posed in a stripped down ad campaign for Kardashian‘s shapewear brand. The pics hit the web, and while a lot of her fans praised the photo spread, others raised concerns about the “Please Please Please” singer working with The Kardashians star — who has a storied and checkered history with Swift.
“As much as people want to believe you’re tuned into every little thing, I’m not because I’m constantly working,” Carpenter previously told Rolling Stone about the rumors. “In that scenario, I’ve been very, very communicative with her about that situation, and I just love her so much and support her till the end. So it was no weirdness for me, but I know people will just say things because that’s all they have time to do.”
Despite her reassurance, Carpenter’s words seemingly caused fans to believe that being “communicative” with Swift meant asking for permission.
In an in-depth profile for Variety, Carpenter rejected the notion that she had to ask for Swift’s consent to participate in the SKIMS campaign because of Kardashian and Swift’s long-held feud.
“The posts about me having to ‘ask for her permission’ — no. She’s one of my best, best friends, and we grab dinner or text and catch up like you would with your best friend,” Carpenter tells the outlet. “She’s just such a gangster with all of it. No matter what people are saying, everything that I’ve ever seen her tackle, she’s done so with grace.”
Kardashian and Swift’s feud has gone on for over a decade, beginning when the reality TV star’s ex-husband, Kanye West, snatched an MTV Video Music Award from Swift’s hand in 2009, and presumably rapped about her on his track, “Famous.” Swift has also seemingly taken jabs at the former couple through her music, most recently in the track “thanK you aIMee” off the release of her double album, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.
True to her words, Carpenter continued to hit the road with Swift, stopping in Mexico City, South America, Singapore and Australia — where she did a sweet debut with the GRAMMY-winning pop star. Carpenter even joined Swift as she supported her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, during the Kansas City Chiefs vs. New York Jets game.
Speaking with Variety, the “Espresso” singer reflected on the mentorship she’s received from Swift and others as she navigates her rapidly rising fame. “It’s so cool for me to get a perspective on this whole process from her and the community of artists that I feel I’m close to — to get advice from them on stuff that you can’t just ask the internet,” she says. “We’re always playing each other our [music], and whenever I start to think, ‘Maybe I’ll get on Twitter and say something about this,’ I’m always like, ‘Maybe I’ll write a song instead.'”
While the “Feather” songstress is open about her relationship with Swift, she plays coy about the status of her relationship with Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan, who recently starred in Carpenter’s music video for her latest single, “Please Please Please.”
The pair sparked dating rumors last year and were photographed several times out and about in California, and made further headlines when Keoghan traveled to Singapore to support Carpenter’s opening gig on Swift‘s Eras Tour.
Keoghan wore a “Sabrina” friendship bracelet shortly thereafter, and then the pair finally posed together at Vanity Fair‘s Oscars after-party. A flirty social media moment followed, before things really heated up at Coachella.
During her set, Carpenter referenced Keoghan’s much-discussed Saltburn bathwater scene in her “Nonsense” outro, singing, “Man his knees so weak he had to spread mine / He’s drinkin’ my bathwater like it’s red wine / Coachella, see you back here when I headline.”
They made their red carpet debut at the 2024 Met Gala, and even shared a kiss in a video from the event.
Carpenter’s video for “Please Please Please,” which was directed by Bardia Zeinali, picks up with Carpenter in jail after she was arrested at the end of her “Espresso” video. The video proceeds with Carpenter, who rocks Calzedonia thigh highs, falling for a convict, played by Keoghan.
“He loved the song. He’s obsessed with the lyrics, and I’m so grateful for that,” she says of the Oscar-nominated star. “I don’t want to sound biased, but I think he’s one of the best actors of this generation. So getting to see him on the screen with my song as the soundtrack made the video better and all the more special.”
Carpenter’s new album Short N’ Sweet drops on Aug. 23.
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