Sabrina Carpenter apologizes following excruciatingly awkward Coachella incident

Sabrina Carpenter has issued an apology after an awkward onstage exchange with a fan during her Coachella headlining set sparked backlash online.

On Friday (April 10), during a pause between songs on the festival’s main stage, the 26-year-old musician reacted to a loud call from the audience.

After finishing her hit 'Please Please Please,' she addressed the crowd: "I think I heard someone yodel," she said, prompting the fan to repeat the sound.

"Is that what you’re doing?" she asked. "I don’t like it." The fan responded that the call was their culture but the 'Espresso' hitmaker said: "That’s your culture, is yodeling?"

"It’s a call of celebration," the fan continued to explain, to which Carpenter then joked: "Is this Burning Man? What’s going on? This is weird."

Backlash and Apology

The sound was later identified by many online as a "zaghrouta," a traditional celebratory vocal expression used in Arabic cultures, often heard at weddings, graduations, and other joyful events.

A clip of the moment quickly circulated on social media, with some viewers criticizing the 'Man Child' singer's reaction as culturally insensitive.

"The way Sabrina doubled down and decided to continue to be ignorant even after it was clarified yodeling is part of that person’s culture says a lot about her,” one disappointed fan tweeted.

"That was so alarming!! the audience explained that its a call for celebration and she dismissed it like that," another said, while a third added: "I love sabrina but why ** did she say that, specially after the fan said it was her culture. calling it weird and saying she didn’t like it was ignorant and so disappointing."

Others defended the singer, with one user writing: "She clearly could not hear the girl speaking," while another said: “She’s a pop star, not a f***ing anthropologist, leave Sabrina Carpenter alone.”

Carpenter Issued An Apology

The Grammy-winning star addressed the situation the following day on social media.

"My apologies," she wrote on X. "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!" she said, adding: "I welcome all cheers and yodels from here on out."

Despite the controversy, Carpenter’s Old Hollywood-themed performance included several standout moments.

Before introducing her next track, she told the crowd: "You know, the last time I played Coachella, I had some crazy piano malfunctions, so I’m making sure that we’re good here."

She then introduced 'We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night,' saying: "I wanted to sing you guys a song I’ve never sung before from Man’s Best Friend.

"If anyone here has ever been in a relationship that starts, and ends, and then starts and ends, and then starts, and then ends, and then maybe it starts again and ends again, I’m singing this directly to you," she said.

The set also featured appearances from prominent names, including Susan Sarandon, who delivered a monologue as an older version of the pop star, as well as Will Ferrell and Sam Elliott.

Featured image credit: Arturo Holmes / Getty