Usher Jokingly Apologizes to Sabrina Carpenter’s Dad After Viral Met Gala Cherry Photo

Usher has jokingly apologized to Sabrina Carpenter’s dad following a viral photo from the 2025 Met Gala that showed the R&B star feeding the “Espresso” singer a cherry during his performance.

“Apologies Mr Carpenter,” Usher commented Wednesday (May 7) on Carpenter’s Instagram post in apparent tongue-in-cheek fashion alongside sweating and cherry emojis. The apology was made on the singer’s photo carousel showing her night at the Met Gala, one of which included a screenshot of her father’s reaction to Usher feeding his daughter a cherry.

“? Weird,” David Carpenter texted Sabrina with the photo.

Fans chimed in about her dad’s text in the comments as well. “Okay last slide is CLASSIC dad text,” one person wrote.

Usher had surprised the lucky attendees inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art Monday night with a performance alongside Stevie Wonder.

According to Vogue, Usher performed “U Don’t Have to Call,” “Yeah!,” “OMG” and “Another Star” with Wonder. It’s unclear when exactly the singer went into his cherry trick with Carpenter, which has been a staple of the 46-year-old’s shows since his Las Vegas residency.

“It started with strawberries in Vegas,” he explained on The Jennifer Hudson Show earlier this year. “So, you know, I just figured we try all the fruits until we figured out which one works the best. But cherries were something that I felt was fun and just kind of active. It was a bit erotic.”

Carpenter rocked a sleek maroon Louis Vuitton body suit at the Met Gala, and then hit some afterparties in a black Louis Vuitton suit and a fur coat alongside her “Taste” music video co-star Jenna Ortega and Chappell Roan.