Rina Sawayama Sends ‘Big Love’ to Sabrina Carpenter, But Calls Out Cultural Insensitivity in ‘SNL’ Performance
Rina Sawayama has nothing against Sabrina Carpenter, but parts of the latter’s Saturday Night Live performance of “Nobody’s Son” over the weekend didn’t sit right with the former.
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On Instagram Stories on Sunday (Oct. 19), the Japanese-British singer-songwriter shared a clip of Carpenter’s showcase, which had a martial arts theme. As the hitmaker sang while wearing a short white robe and black belt as a dress, background dancers acted out a fight sequence behind her.
Zooming in on the footwear of the background performers, Sawayama wrote, “Big love to Sabrina but fellow artists creative teams … if we are clearly referencing a culture, please can you do so with the research, respect and care it deserves.”
“Shoes on tatami is jail,” she added.
Tatami is a traditional Japanese floor mat. According to Japanese etiquette, people should never wear shoes — or even slippers — on the material.
Billboard has reached out to reps for SNL and Carpenter for comment.
Sawayama’s post comes one day after the Girl Meets World alum made her hosting debut on the sketch-comedy series. In addition to performing “Nobody’s Son,” Carpenter — who served as her own musical guest — sang “Manchild,” poked fun at the controversy surrounding her Man’s Best Friend album cover in her opening monologue and parodied close friend Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” for another “Domingo” sketch.
“Nobody’s Son” appears on Man’s Best Friend, which dropped in August and became Carpenter’s second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. So far, the track has peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, while lead single “Manchild” peaked at No. 1.
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