Sabrina Carpenter has been on a high since she opened for Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour. She then went on to headline her own tour and win two Grammy awards. Yet, amid her latest success, headlining the first night of Coachella, she has had a major slip. The twenty-six-year-old is being slammed for being “insensitive” and making cultural hate comments. So, what did she say, and how is she trying to rectify this situation? Keep reading for more details.
Sabrina Carpenter In Trouble
Those who headed to Coachella in Indio, California, this past weekend were thrilled with the lineup. Justin Bieber was set to perform, which was a huge deal as he has been noticeably reclusive. Along with Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter headlined the first day of the music festival. Many celebrities, reality stars, and influencers attend, sponsor, and share snaps of themselves enjoying their time. Unfortunately for Sabrina, as much as attendees enjoyed the music and her performance, it ended up being tainted.
While she was performing, she heard what she believed to be a yodel. She did not care for it, or at least that is how she acted, and immediately called out the person making noise. At the same time, it was noted that this was not a yodel at all and, in fact, a zaghrouta chant/cheer. In the Arab culture, it is a high-pitched sound performed by women as a way to show happiness. Sabrina started like this:
“Is that what you’re doing? I don’t like it.”
The fan tried to let her know what they were doing, but it did not seem to matter:
“That’s your culture? Yodeling? Is this Burning Man? This is weird.”
After this exchange went viral, Sabrina Carpenter was slammed for her behavior. She was seen as completely tone deaf and rude. Moreover, she was disrespectful to a whole community, and followers did not hold back:
- Sabrina saying that she doesn’t like a cultural arabic cheer. This is so insensitive and islamophobic. I am very disappointed in her.
Sabrina Carpenter when someone was performing the zaghroot (arab cheer), called him a yodeler, saying, “She doesn’t like it.” pic.twitter.com/XS6HJse57A
— LPC (@landpalestine) April 11, 2026
Issuing An Apology
After this happened, and the backlash came in heavy, Sabrina Carpenter soon issued an apology. She let her fans and followers know that it was a pure mistake on her part:
- My apologies I didn’t see this person with my eyes and couldn’t hear clearly. My reaction was pure confusion, sarcasm and not ill intended. Could have handled it better! Now I know what a Zaghrouta is! I welcome all cheers and yodels from here on out.
It is not clear if she felt that she had to, based on how badly she was slammed, and fans came at her hard:
- She is a little girl dressed up as a adult. Mind me I’ve worked with youth and there are kiddos that are more understanding to these type of events.
- Sabrina Carpenter mocking a zaghrouta as ‘yodeling’ after being educated on its culture is so nasty. Being uncultured and proud is actually a disease. The mean girl act isn’t cute anymore, it’s just xenophobic. She’s done.
At this point, it is unclear if Sabrina Carpenter had ill intent or was truly being sarcastic. She has to understand that this is not her typical show. Coachella is an all-out music festival, and she needs to be cognizant of the melting pot scene.
Had you heard about what happened, and do you think Sabrina Carpenter should be forgiven? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Amanda has been a professional freelance writer for over a decade, holding both a BA and an MA. Her passions include animals, iced coffee, gnomes, summer, music, and ‘Vanderpump Rules’.