Amid the release of her hit song “Espresso,” Sabrina Carpenter’s latest promotional campaign has sparked a divide online.
On Monday, Sabrina, 25, surprised fans by working a barista shift at a Blank Street coffee shop in London.
“She’s working late because she’s a baristaaaa,” Blank Street wrote on Instagram alongside several photos of Sabrina posing on the counter. “Thanks @sabrinacarpenter for popping by Charlotte St and serving up some me espressos.”
Before long, a video of Sabrina behind the counter surfaced online and prompted mixed discourse, with several fans accusing the singer of “cosplaying” as a “minimum wage worker” — something that numerous celebrities have faced backlash for in the past.
“the worst gimmick a celebrity can possibly do,” read one popular tweet with over 185,000 likes. “Working a minimum wage job isn’t a trend,” someone wrote.
“Rich people cosplaying as minimum wage workers is the corniest shit in the world,” another person echoed, while someone else added: “so cute and wholesome when a celebrity cosplays a minimum wage worker as a publicity stunt then goes back to living a life of ultimate privilege.”
“i don't understand celebrities fascination with cosplaying as underpayed service workers it feels so gimmicky and patronizing,” one user wrote, while another person added, “I feel like Blank Street could have just created a fun Espresso drink in her honour instead of having her go pretend to be a barista in a Fendi two piece with workers who get paid pennies. This is always weird.”
However, on the other hand, some people expressed their love for this specific marketing tactic. “usually i hate on celebrities when they do shit like this BUT to be fair her song is literally called espresso like this makes sense right,” one person wrote.
“See I’m not usually a fan of celebrities cosplaying service jobs for a day but she literally has the song of the summer and it’s called Espresso… We will allow it,” another person said.