Sabrina Carpenter defended her friend and producer Jack Antonoff this week, criticizing those who complain about his monolithic influence on the music industry.
“Fuck them all,” Carpenter told Rolling Stone of Antonoff’s critics. “I think he’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever met.”
Antonoff, a frequent collaborator of Taylor Swift, has also worked with Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Florence and the Machine, Carly Rae Jepsen, Clairo and many more. Following the release of Swift’s most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department, many online posited the claim that his widespread influence was leading to a monopoly of style in modern pop music.
Carpenter — who was one of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour openers — pushed back against the criticism, saying Antonoff’s many collabs are all the result of pure talent. “When he’s in a room, he’s able to literally touch every instrument in the room and make it sound magical,” she said. “He also works very fast, which I really appreciate because I work very fast.”
Elsewhere in the profile, Carpenter also opened up about how her recent skyrocket in fame has changed her life — her two most recent singles, “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” currently both near the top of Spotify’s top songs, have been embraced by the internet as defining songs of the summer.
The singer will release her next album, Short N’ Sweet, on August 23. Her most recent record before that was 2022’s Emails I Can’t Send, which she says was released during a personal low point.
“I cried every day then,” she said. “I don’t cry every day now.”