Sabrina Carpenter Clears Up Album Cover Controversy & “Misconceptions” In ‘SNL’ Monologue: “I’m Not Just Horny. I’m Also Turned-On”

In her second time as a Saturday Night Live musical guest and as a first-time host, Grammy winner Sabrina Carpenter wasted no time in delving into controversy in her signature cheeky style.

The late-night sketch show — which began late tonight due to college football — eschewed its typical political satire for a Domingo reunion during its Cold Open, featuring a reprisal by Marcello Hernandez and Carpenter. Taking to the stage fresh off of the intro, Carpenter addressed the internet furor over the cover art for her most recently released album, Man’s Best Friend.

“Some people got a little freaked out by the cover,” she said, alluding to fan concerns it was unfeminist. “I’m not sure why? It was just this: me on all fours, with an unseen figure pulling my hair. But what people don’t realize is that’s just how they cropped it. If you zoom out, it’s clearly a picture from the 50th anniversary special of Bowen [Yang] helping me up by the hair — after Martin Short shoved me out of the buffet line, saying something like, ‘Daddy need his mini quiche.’” (As reported earlier, Bowen Yang is absent this episode.)

The “Espresso” singer continued, wanting to “clear up some misconceptions” about her public persona. “Everyone thinks of me as this horned-up pop star, but there’s really so much more to me,” she quipped. “I’m not just horny. I’m also turned-on, and I’m sexually charged, and I love to read. My favorite book is the encyclopedia. It’s so big, and it’s hard.”

Carpenter, who is the first person to be pulling double-duty this season, also pulled from her concert repertoire to interact with the audience. As she moved to “arrest” someone for being hot — a mainstay bit from her tour — veteran Kenan Thompson popped up to jail her in turn for impersonating a cop hundreds of times.

Watch the full monologue below: