Sabrina Carpenter's 'Manchild' Is Putting Every Woman's Red Flag Ex On Notice (Thank Goodness)
Sabrina Carpenter dropped her first single of 2025 on June 5, thrilling fans with the sassy yet playful message of "Manchild." Created alongside collaborators Amy Allen and Jack Antonoff, Carpenter's latest tune offers not just a catchy beat but some heartfelt truths about dating. As might be abundantly clear by the title, Carpenter gives some zinging digs to the men in her past. "Manchild / Why you always come a-running to me? F*** my life / Won't you let an innocent woman be? Never heard of self-care / Half your brain just ain't there/" she sings in the chorus. The message is clearly a woman lamenting a toxic ex, who drained her with his incompetence, lies, and selfishness.
The song may or may not have been directed at Carpenter's ex, Barry Keoghan. The two parted ways in December 2024, and fans weren't terribly surprised. Keoghan and Carpenter's relationship had tons of red flags, including rumors of Keoghan's infidelity. When Carpenter announced the release of "Manchild" on Instagram, she wrote in the caption: "this one's about you!!" The "you" is undefined, but fans are free to fill in the blanks. Some pointed out the song was released conveniently on the anniversary of "Please Please Please," which featured Keoghan in the music video. The contrast between the two songs couldn't be more clear: While the 2024 synth pop song had Carpenter lovesick and worried that her lover would end up like every man who previously broke her heart, "Manchild" comes through confidence and attitude after realizing he was indeed just like the others — only this time, she's finally over it.
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Whatever happened between the two, it's clear from the lyrics of "Manchild" that Carpenter isn't holding back. She calls the ex "stupid," "slow," and "useless" in the track, and even blames his mother for his emotional unavailability. Though it may seem harsh, many of Carpenter's fans took to the internet to express how relatable they found the experience Carpenter described. "Manchild is for the girls who realize it was their love that made them special" wrote one user on TikTok. Another added "We're all dating the same guy" over another video reacting to the tune, highlighting the universality of the experience.
Sabrina Carpenter gets honest in Manchild
While Sabrina Carpenter's hit song, "Manchild" pokes at toxic exes and their careless behavior – and we love putting those toxic exes on alert – she also gives a little tough love to herself in the song. It's not surprising because we've gotten a lot of quality dating advice from Carpenter's songs. She calls herself out on dating patterns that might not be the best. Carpenter sings: "Oh, I like my boys playing hard to get / And I like my men all incompetent / And I swear they choose me, I'm not choosing them." Carpenter isn't shy to dish it out to exes, but she also gently calls out her own relationship patterns of choosing the wrong men.
The music video for "Manchild" stresses this point even more, as Carpenter hitchhikes along a highway, and jumps in and out of beater cars, driven by even less lovely men. She goes from one car to the next, with each vehicle offering some new form of disaster. We love a gal who can give a jab, but who can also identify her own part in dysfunctional relationships. "Okay, I get it: each car is a relationship—chaotic, makes no sense, sometimes full of danger—and jumping out of one car into another is Sabrina jumping into a new, uncertain (but almost predictably wild) relationship," a fan commented on YouTube. Plus, the video is loaded with fabulous outfit changes, including one Dasiy Duke ensemble that proves that Carpenter is still a fan of retro trends. There's so much to love here!