Sabrina Carpenter has apologised for her reaction to a fan’s Arabic celebration call at Coachella, explaining her response was “pure confusion”.
The 26-year-old pop star was the first headliner of the 2026 California music festival, delivering an Old Hollywood-themed performance on Friday night (10 April).
Carpenter ignited some debate, however, when she responded to a fan in the audience who let out a Zaghrouta – an Arabic celebration call performed by women to express joy at events such as weddings, graduations, and births. It is described as a high-pitched, trilling sound.
Speaking into the mic, the “Espresso” singer said: “I think I heard someone yodel. Is that what you’re doing? I don’t like it.”
The fan yelled back: “It’s my culture!” to which Carpenter replied: “That’s your culture, is yodelling?” The fan could then be heard explaining: “It’s a call of celebration.” Carpenter quipped in return: “Is this Burning Man? What’s going on? This is weird.”
Her response sparked backlash on social media, with some people condemning Carpenter’s words as culturally insensitive.
On Saturday (12 April), Carpenter addressed the controversy in a statement on social media.
“My apologies, I didn’t see this person with my eyes and couldn’t hear clearly,” she wrote on X. “My reaction was pure confusion, sarcasm and not ill intended. Could have handled it better! Now I know what a Zaghrouta is! I welcome all cheers and yodels from here on out.”
Video of the moment spread across social media, igniting a heated debate over how Carpenter handled the moment.
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“The way Sabrina doubled down and decided to continue to be ignorant even after it was clarified yodelling is part of that person’s culture says a lot about her,” one person wrote.
Others defended the singer, with another person writing: “She’s a pop star, not a f***ing anthropologist, leave Sabrina Carpenter alone.”
Carpenter’s headline set was filled with other notable moments, including cameos from stars such as Will Ferrell and Landman actor Sam Elliott.
A particular stand-out was Susan Sarandon. The 79-year-old delivered a nearly seven-minute dramatic monologue mid-set, during which she played an older version of the pop star ruminating on her life and success.
Carpenter’s headline set on Friday (10 April) was followed by Justin Bieber on Saturday (11 April), with the final headliner Karol G still to perform.
