A Photo Shoot Mystery: Is Sabrina Referencing Lolita?

With the Short N’ Sweet Tour officially started, all eyes are on Sabrina Carpenter. As an official ‘Tay-daughter’, fans are excited to unpack any Easter eggs the recent VMAs winner may leave. As she is a girl who references pop culture often (Juno in Short N’ Sweet, Death Becomes Her in the Taste music video) most of Sabrina’s brand relies on associating her glamorous Barbie aesthetic with important cultural highlights. And with Sabrina’s newest photo shoot released to promote her album, fans can’t help but notice a new reference being added to the list.

Zoe Ghertner, an LA photographer, was able to photograph Sabrina for the September 2024 issue for W Magazine. Ms. Ghertner is known for her very natural and female oriented photography. This touch is very clearly reflected in the photo shoot, featuring Sabrina with very messy but natural makeup. One photo stands out stylistically in the mix however; a photo of Sabrina soaking wet laying beneath a sprinkler in what appears to be a backyard. 

Fans have now speculated that there may be a reason this photo is so different from the rest. This photo appears to be referencing the novel and film Lolita. The film Lolita is filmed from the perspective of Humbert Humbert, an older man who is also the narrator of the story. The 37 year old man meets 12 year old Dolores, who he nicknames Lolita for being the ‘epitome of seduction and beauty.’ In this perverse story the little girl Dolores is lying beneath a sprinkler enjoying herself, as children do. Humbert comes to the conclusion that Dolores is intentionally doing this to excite him. The movie continues as Humbert becomes her legal guardian and proceeds to repeatedly have intercourse with Dolores until she escapes. He finds her later in life at the age of 17 and realizes how he destroyed Dolores’ innocence.

This story has received much criticism over time for obvious reasons. A story told from the perspective of a groomer is of course an unsettling and disgusting novel. However, due to certain adaptations of the novel, this story is oftentimes regarded as romantic and a love story. The basis of this novel inspired one of the most iconic films of all time; American Beauty. Even more recent artists, such as Lana Del Ray, have shaped branding of entire albums after the plot and aesthetic after Lolita. 

So what could this potentially mean for Sabrina Carpenter? Fans that have put together that Sabrina is referencing Lolita so far have not been happy. This may be because Sabrina has a mainly female oriented audience and frequently female audience members have criticized the message that the Lolita novel put out. Especially as Sabrina’s recent aesthetic has been hyper sexual, fans can’t help but wonder if she’s falling into the ‘sexy baby’ stereotype.

Many of Sabrina Carpenter’s new aesthetics also hold trademarks of the Lolita aesthetics. Described as ‘sexy, flirty, and innocent’ the Lolita style has key accents such as ruffles, big hair, and heart shapes. Sound familiar? Sabrina’s style may just be pulling references from the novel, or she may be genuinely trying to incorporate the novel into her aesthetic. And while Sabrina’s newest photo shoot may have just been a playful reference to the Lolita novel, but with the photo shoot for W Magazine it sets the expectation for more Easter eggs to come. Fans can only wait and hope that Sabrina makes her own feminine gaze brand instead of playing into the childlike sex fantasy.