Carly Simon Sticks Up for Sabrina Carpenter Amid Album Cover Controversy

Carly Simon has emerged in support of pop star Sabrina Carpenter, who has been under fire for the cover of her upcoming album, Man's Best Friend.

The cover shows Carpenter on her hands and knees reaching out to a man while he's grabbing her hair.

Simon faced similar controversy back in 1975 thanks to the cover of her fifth studio album, Playing Possum. The cover shows Simon in a black negligee and black boots, while on her knees and clenching her fists. She told Rolling Stone in a new interview that the photo was taken during a shoot while she was dancing around to the Isaac Hayes classic "Theme from Shaft."

Cover of the 1975 Carly Simon studio album 'Playing Possum.' (Elektra)

Some thought the cover was incredibly suggestive. Norman Seeff, who shot the cover of Playing Possum, said of the photo, "There’s this whole controversy around what did it represent? It felt very much like that energy in a woman, but I just thought of it as a beautiful shot. None of that stuff they were talking about was the intention."

As for Carpenter's cover, Simon said, "She’s not doing anything outrageous. It seems tame. There have been far flashier covers than hers."

Simon added, "One of the most startling covers I’ve ever seen was [The Rolling Stones’] Sticky Fingers. That was out there in terms of sexual attitude. So I don’t know why she’s getting such flak."