For a lot of people — Sabrina Carpenter included — the online drama surrounding her supposed part in Olivia Rodrigo‘s “Drivers License” love triangle drama feels like a lifetime ago.
But in 2021, the debacle was pretty much all anyone could talk about, with the internet casting the “Espresso” singer in the “other woman” archetype after actor Joshua Bassett reportedly broke up with his High School Musical: The Musical: The Series castmate to start dating Carpenter. It all stemmed from lyrics on Rodrigo’s Billboard Hot 100-topping debut single, on which she sings, “You’re probably with that blonde girl, who always made me doubt.”
Years later, the Girl Meets World alum is far better known for her own chart-toppers such as “Please Please Please” following the success of her breakthrough 2024 album Short n’ Sweet, and Carpenter and Rodrigo have even been spotted looking friendly at events in the years since the drama unfolded. But in her Rolling Stone cover story published Thursday (June 12), the two-time Grammy winner shared what being the target of so many rumors taught her.
“All I knew was that it wasn’t going to stop me from doing what I loved, ever,” she told the publication. “That’s kind of how I’ve always felt. Sometimes, it’s about how you are able to be resilient. What that era taught me was to just trust myself, and trust that everything is going to work out the way it’s supposed to, and trust that relationships are put into your life for a reason. You might not see that in the moment, but you see it later.”
Noting that she “didn’t really intentionally” try to change public opinion of her post-“Drivers License,” Carpenter revealed whether or not she ever ruminates on that time period. “I don’t think about it, ever,” she deadpanned.
The “Taste” artist, who earlier in the story revealed that she sometimes wears a brown wig to disguise herself in public, jokingly added, “I’ve tried being brunette, and it didn’t look good on me, so this is what it is.”
It’s not the first time Carpenter has addressed what happened in 2021. She dropped the singles “Skin” and “Because I Liked a Boy” as presumed responses to feeling misunderstood by the public amid the criticism. She also told Billboard in October of that year, “It’s such a waste of time, because you’ll never know the truth.”
“That’s part of the fun of it, I guess,” she added at the time. “But at the same time, there are real people. I will say, that’s the hardest thing — trying to be truthful to yourself, make art that feels real and exciting, but then also knowing that [you’re writing] about humans going through what we’re all going through on a daily basis.”
The Rolling Stone interview comes just one day after Carpenter announced her new album, Man’s Best Friend, which follows the release of lead single “Manchild” earlier this month. The LP will drop Aug. 29, almost exactly one year after she released Short n’ Sweet.
It’s an unusually short break between albums nowadays, but as Carpenter pointed out in the cover story, her idols — from Dolly Parton to Linda Rondstadt — used to do the same thing back in the day. “They would release a 10-song album every year,” she said. “I’m like, ‘When did we stop doing that?’ Writers write, they make music, and they release music.”
“If I really wanted to, I could have stretched out Short n’ Sweet much, much longer,” Carpenter added. “But I’m at that point in my life where I’m like, ‘Wait a second, there’s no rules.’ If I’m inspired to write and make something new, I would rather do that. Why would I wait three years just for the sake of waiting three years? It’s all about what feels right. I’m learning to listen to that a lot more, instead of what is perceived as the right or wrong move.”
