Overview

• “Manchild” debuted June 5 at No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart, marking Carpenter’s first U.S. chart-topper.
• She revealed on June 11 that her seventh studio album, Man’s Best Friend, will arrive August 29, 2025, with “Manchild” as its lead single.
• The cover image, showing Carpenter on her hands and knees as a suited figure pulls her hair, has drawn polarized views over whether it critiques the male gaze or veers into misogyny.
• On June 16, Carpenter directly replied on X to a critic questioning if she has “a personality outside of sex,” asserting her autonomy and creative range.
• The controversy highlights broader debates over feminism, female sexual expression in pop music, and the intense scrutiny faced by women artists.