Rina Sawayama is calling attention to a major faux pas in Sabrina Carpenter‘s martial arts-inspired Saturday Night Live performance.
A day after Carpenter pulled double duty as SNL‘s host and musical guest, the Japanese-British singer lovingly called out a detail in her performance of “Nobody’s Son,” which was set against the backdrop of a Japanese martial arts studio.
“Big love to Sabrina,” Sawayama began her Sunday Instagram Stories post, adding a heart emoji. “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.”
Pointing to a specific detail, Sawayama added, “Shoes on tatami is jail.”
Will Heath/NBC
The episode saw Carpenter sing two songs from her hit new album, Man’s Best Friend, each with their own concept. While the “Manchild” performance featured the pop star dancing around a bedroom while singing into a hairbrush, “Nobody’s Son” saw her joined on stage by sparring stunt performers while she sang in a set made to look like a dojo. They were all clad in gis, with Carpenter sporting a sparkly black belt.
Sawayama’s post references the traditional floor mat that the performers are seen sparring on, and the etiquette that accompanies it — namely, never wearing shoes on a tatami.
Representatives for Carpenter and Saturday Night Live did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly‘s request for comment.
Carpenter’s second SNL performance also raised eyebrows for another reason: She dropped two F-bombs during the song, repeating the lyric, “He sure f—ed me up.”
Some viewers on the West Coast noted that the audio went silent during the two f-words, but for others, the utterances were neither bleeped nor muted.
Chris Cosgrove for EW
As for Sawayama, the “This Hell” singer is no stranger to calling out cultural insensitivity. Two years ago, she didn’t hesitate to publicly slam the 1975’s lead singer Matty Healy for widely circulated racist remarks that he made on a 2023 podcast.
While introducing her song “STFU” at Glastonbury, Sawayama said, “I wrote this next song because I was sick and tired of microaggressions. So, tonight, this song goes out to a white man who watches [pornography series] Ghetto Gaggers and mocks Asian people on a podcast. He also owns my masters. I’ve had enough.”
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Sawayama. who is signed to the same UK record label as the 1975, later told The Independent that she experienced “intense racist misogyny” in the aftermath of the callout, adding that she feels “trapped” by her record label circumstances.
“I’ve been lucky to have found ways to keep my business afloat and support myself as well as my team, but when it comes to new music I can’t release another album under my current conditions,” she shared in 2024. “I feel really trapped and don’t know what to do.”
Watch Carpenter’s criticized “Nobody’s Son” performance above.
