Why do female artists suffer prudish policing when male artists continue to walk free with offensive lyrics?
Another round of Brit Awards in March 2026 brought back to me an episode of moral policing and hypocrisy in the previous one. Who was the victim in 2025? None other than the singer of the addictive tune, Espresso, Sabrina Carpenter.
Dressed in a red, glittered military-style blazer and accompanied by the members of the ‘King’s Guard,’ Carpenter had triggered the reflexive prudish attitudes of the audience. The pop star had put on a grand show at the Brit Awards 2025 and delivered a stunning medley performance of the songs “Bed Chem” and “Espresso.” Well-known for her bold performances and explicit songs, Carpenter lived up to her cheeky, innuendo-heavy and humorous reputation in the Brit Awards. For a brief moment during the act, she crouched down to a backup dancer’s waist with her mic in her hand, and the dancer dressed as a royal guard looked at the camera and winked. Ofcom, the communication regulator was flooded with more than 800+ complaints specifically calling out Sabrina Carpenter’s performance as inappropriate and appalling.
Although Carpenter was the first-ever international artist to receive the Global Success Award, her hard work and achievements were overshadowed in the aftermath of the award show. Some sources claim that she orchestrated a “sex act“, “oversexualising” herself for the views and did a provocative performance harmful to the younger audiences.
Sabrina’s songs and performances have always been explicit, and the audience should more or less always know what to expect. Secondly, the double standards in terms of censorship for the sake of protecting society’s moral standards are always imposed on female bodies. While many male artists walk free, permitted to sing lyrics objectifying women, this moral policing seems to be in a deep slumber in Britain. In a world where people have bopped to horrifying lyrics such as Jason Derulo’s Talk Dirty, where he sings “our conversations ain’t long, but you know what is”, why are female musicians held to a different standard?
This isn’t the first time that audiences have shown their moral hypocrisy. One of the most controversial cases in the music industry has been Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake’s Superbowl performance in 2004. Timberlake accidentally exposed Jackson’s breast while performing, which was claimed to be a “wardrobe malfunction”. Could you imagine the reaction of the audience? A man accidentally rips off and exposes the female body, yet the censorship, humiliation and provocativeness are imposed on Jackson’s public image. At the same Brit Awards where Carpenter’s name was dragged through the mud, the audience had seemingly co-signed male entitlement by the awards show host. Jack Whitehall, the English comedian, made an offensive joke towards Jade Thirwall, who was wearing an all-white outfit. “I love that she went for that aesthetic,” he said. “I really thought Diddy might have done it for the white party theme. Jade has brought it back.”
This distasteful joke hadn’t garnered any complaints from Ofcom. Imagine working hard in an industry which favours men over women, where your outfit choices garner more attention than your work. When a woman gives a bold performance, puts on an act in which she’s comfortable in her skin, and shows artistic creativity, all the morality laws come knocking on the door. With articles, media, and Instagram comments all buzzing about the appalling performance, our girl Sabrina had brushed off the response playfully by saying, “Brits! I now know what a watershed is.”
Some fans continue to support Carpenter and praise her for her performance at the Brit Awards. For them, no matter how many complaints turn up at Ofcom, Carpenter will continue to be the voice of women, encouraging them to be outrageous rebels and embracing their sexualities in a society which continues to conform them to performative standards.
Photo credits: djdiscjockey.co.uk
