Sabrina Carpenter issued an apology after mistakenly referring to a fan’s celebratory Arabic chant as “yodeling” during her Coachella headlining set—an awkward moment that drew backlash.
“My apologies,” she wrote on X on Saturday afternoon. “I didn’t see this person with my eyes and couldn’t hear clearly. My reaction was pure confusion, sarcasm, and not ill-intended. Could have handled it better!”
“Now I know what a zaghrouta is!” she added. “I welcome all cheers and yodels from here on out.”
Sabrina Carpenter called out a fan during her Coachella set after thinking she heard someone yodel.
During her Friday night performance on the California festival’s main stage, Carpenter paused between songs after a loud call rang out from the crowd.
After finishing her hit “Please Please Please,” she sat at her keyboard as the audience quieted—except for one fan who continued shouting.
“I think I heard someone yodel,” Carpenter said, prompting the fan to repeat the sound.
“Is that what you’re doing?” she asked. “I don’t like it.”
“It’s my culture,” the fan replied.
“That’s your culture—is yodeling?” Carpenter responded.
The fan clarified that it was a “call of celebration,” prompting Sabrina Carpenter to respond, “Is this Burning Man? What’s going on? This is weird.”
