Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘BBC’ Line Sparks Black Fetishization Debate

Pop singer and actress Sabrina Carpenter puzzled many on social media for her use of the fetishization term "BBC" during a recent performance.

The "Espresso" artist was a performer at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend 2024 in Luton, England last weekend, where she did a live rendition of her 2022 track "Nonsense." For the song's outro, she gave it a risque flip, singing what she thought was a clever play on the NSFW term "BBC."

"BBC said I should keep it PG/BBC I wish I had it in me/There's a double meaning if you dig deep," Carpenter sang while laughing onstage.

But some social media users didn't find the line funny, especially those who are Black, considering the reference offensive and racist.

Although Carpenter hasn't responded to the controversy, members of her "Carpenters" fanbase have defended her, claiming the reference was simply a play on words.

Carpenter has used a variation of the "BBC" line before, one in which the actual network, BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), had to edit out of a 2023 performance of "Nonsense."

“An unedited version of the video was briefly posted in error, and the correct version is now available for viewers to enjoy,” a BBC Radio 1 spokesperson tells Billboard in 2023. The video cuts out before she says the ad-lib.

"How quickly can you take your clothes off, pop quiz/I’m American I am not British, so BBC: it stands for something different/This Live Lunge is so lit because I’m in it, innit," she sang at the time.

The "Nonsense" performance isn't on BBC Radio 1's YouTube, but her performance of "Espresso" is. You can watch it below.