If you surfed the internet for even a second in early 2021, chances are, you heard something about the alleged Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, and Sabrina Carpenter love triangle that basically played out via song lyrics. Now, more than a year later, Sabrina is opening up with her side of the story in her fifth studio album emails i can’t send.
Before we dive into Sabrina’s new and ~exciting~ album, here’s a quick refresh on all the dram. In 2020, Joshua reportedly ended a relationship with Olivia and then began seeing Sabrina right afterward. In 2021, Olivia went on to write multiple hit songs, seemingly about her experience — and fans went *wild*. Basically, everyone thought that Olivia had written “drivers license” about Joshua , with lyrics like “And you’re probably with that blonde girl / who always made me doubt,” pointing toward his new relationship with Sabrina.
Olivia has reiterated multiple times in both Variety and her Disney+ film Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u that none of her songs have ever been about tearing down other women, but the internet quickly painted Sabrina as a “villain,” with SNL even doing a sketch publicizing the situation.
Eventually, Sabrina released a song titled “Skin” which many people thought was a diss track about Olivia and people that were trying to “get under” her skin. However, Sabrina was quick to refute these claims, saying that “the song isn’t calling out one single person,” and that while “some lines address a specific situation, others “address plenty of other experiences I’ve had this past year.”
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Sabrina revisited the topic of the viral love triangle and her reaction to it.
“I’m fully aware that even if you try to break it down, really really break it down for people, they still might not understand,” she says, “I’m not in that exact place anymore.”
“People can say whatever they want to say, but I was lucky to be able to verbalize an experience that some people have been through,” she adds. “Hopefully it has helped them get through their experience with a little bit more strength and understanding. If I can do that, then I don’t have regrets.”
One song on her new album really seems to point toward how she felt during the love triangle drama and how it’s affected her.
Titled “because i liked a boy” the track starts with Sabrina possibly opening up about time with Joshua, with her singing: “You showed up with a boombox / And stars in your eyes / Who knew cuddling on trampolines / Could be so reckless? / We bonded over Black Eyed Peas / And complicated exes / Fell so deeply into it / It was all so innocent.”
Sabrina then moves on to the public perception of her, singing, “Now I’m a homewrecker, I’m a slut / I got death threats fillin’ up semi-trucks” and “I’m a hot topic on your tongue / I’m a rebound gettin’ ’round stealin’ from the young / Tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice / All because I liked a boy.”
In the bridge, Sabrina gives a nugget of advice, saying “Dating boys with exes / No, I wouldn’t recommend it.” For the final chorus, she sings, “And all of this for what? / When everything went down, we’d already broken up / Please, tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice / All because I liked a boy.”
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Sharing more about this new track, Sabrina told Rolling Stone, “It was very therapeutic to write that song from hindsight and being like, “Wow, one thing leads to another and things can really get out of hand.” Just being able to own it at the end of the day, and not let it determine who you are.”
She added, “So many people probably have dealt with the situation of being labeled something that they’re not. It’s frustrating because you want to do something about it. But then if you do something, people are mad; if you don’t do something, people are mad.”
As for where else she looked for inspiration when writing this song, Sabrina said “One of my favorite movies is Easy A, and I was sort of picturing Emma Stone’s character because she was labeled to be something. It’s a weirdly empowering film in a sense. She uses humor to deflect her pain and what she’s going through and I do that too.”
A breakup anthem that is inspired by the 2010 masterpiece Easy A? We are already *obsessed*, and the album just came out. Love it lots, Sabrina!
Abby is an editorial assistant at Seventeen, covering pop culture, beauty, life, and health. When she’s not busy watching the latest true crime docuseries, you can find her strolling through Sephora, thrifting the perfect dress, or jogging with her pup.