Pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter took on double duty as both host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live on October 18, captivating audiences with performances from her latest album, Man’s Best Friend. The 26-year-old artist showcased her seventh studio album, which previously debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in September, with two memorable live acts and a witty opening monologue.

Carpenter’s first musical performance featured her lead single, Manchild, a track that topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in late June. She appeared on a dimly lit bedroom set, dressed simply in a white T-shirt and pink SNL-branded underwear, moving gracefully across the stage. Later in the episode, she returned for a high-energy, dojo-themed rendition of the reggae-pop track Nobody’s Son. For this performance, Carpenter donned a bedazzled white karate gi and a black belt, notably dropping two F-bombs live on air while smashing wooden boards and engaging with fellow black belts. While the expletives aired uncensored during the live NBC telecast and Peacock simulcast, they were muted for the West Coast broadcast and subsequent online versions, including those uploaded to YouTube.

During her opening monologue, Carpenter leaned into her provocative public image, particularly addressing the buzz surrounding the cover of Man’s Best Friend, which depicts her on all fours. She lightheartedly joked about the album cover’s cropping, revealing a wider context involving Bowen Yang helping her up after a comical incident with Martin Short. Carpenter also attempted to clarify public misconceptions about her being a “horndog pop star,” humorously stating: “I’m not just horny. I’m also turned on and I’m sexually charged. And I love to read. My favorite book is the encyclopedia. It’s so big and it’s hard…” The monologue culminated in a playful concert tradition where she vowed to arrest a “hot” person from the audience, only to be humorously interrupted and “arrested” herself by SNL veteran Kenan Thompson for impersonating an officer at her concerts, before Thompson jokingly requested a cameo video for his niece.

Carpenter also featured prominently in the recurring Domingo Cold Open sketch, reprising her role alongside Marcello Hernandez’s Domingo. In the sketch, which saw Chloe Fineman’s character Kelsey celebrating her husband Matthew’s birthday, Carpenter and the other “girl squad” members performed musical parodies revealing Kelsey’s infidelity with Domingo during a trip to Nashville. Hernandez’s Domingo then made a dramatic entrance, professing his love for Kelsey to Alex Warren’s Ordinary. This sketch continued a tradition of Domingo’s appearances, including past episodes where Carpenter’s hit Espresso was featured, as well as during the SNL50 special where she spoofed Defying Gravity.

Beyond her October 18 appearance, Carpenter has a history with SNL, having served as a musical guest in May 2024 and making a notable appearance during the SNL50 special in February, where she duetted with Paul Simon and co-starred in a Domingo sketch alongside Pedro Pascal. Currently, Carpenter is back on her Short n’ Sweet Tour, which is also promoting Man’s Best Friend, with six new dates scheduled in Los Angeles, concluding on November 23.