Sabrina Carpenter 'open' to banning phones at concerts despite 'backlash' from fans
19 June 2025, 14:34 | Updated: 19 June 2025, 16:59
Sabrina Carpenter has said she's open to banning phones at her concerts as the subject of mobile devices at shows comes into focus.
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The “Espresso” mega-star has said phones are fine for now - but highlighted that she may ban fans zooming in on camera phones when her skin is no longer “soft and supple”.
Speaking earlier this month, Ms Carpenter acknowledge there would be pushback on the move, insisting a lack of phones could provide a greater all-round concert experience.
“This will honestly p**s off my fans, but absolutely,” she said when asked about theoretically banning phones at concerts.
Ms Carpenter then spoke about a Silk Sonic concert she attended in Las Vegas where phones were banned - she recalled “never having a better experience at a concert”.
“I genuinely felt like I was back in the Seventies,” she said. “I genuinely felt like I was there. Everyone’s singing, dancing, looking at each other and laughing. It really, really just felt so beautiful.”
The full interview, published in a recent issue of Rolling Stone, did not include the quotes about phone use, with the recent lines coming from unpublished sections of her cover story.
“I’ve grown up in the age of people having iPhones at shows,” Ms Carpenter said.
“It unfortunately feels super normal to me. I can’t blame people for wanting to have memories. But depending on how long I want to be touring, and what age I am, girl, take those phones away.”
“You cannot zoom in on my face. Right now, my skin is soft and supple. It’s fine. Do not zoom in on me when I’m 80 years old up there.”
Phones have become something of an annoyance to many fans at concerts over the last decade, with other artists trying to regain control of phone-heavy crowds.
Even as early as 2015, Jack White of The White Stripes had asked audiences to not use their phones on his Lazaretto tour.
The Raconteurs and Placebo have also previously issued pleas to fans to keep their phones in their pocket.
As well as excessive phone use, poor concert etiquette has become a growing concern for audiences and artists alike in recent years - and many lay the blame for this with smartphones.
It might be the case that smartphones and social media are causing concertgoers to be more concerned with capturing the perfect “viral” moment or getting “noticed” by the artists, rather than enjoying the set.
In 2023 and 2024, social media saw a surge in videos of artists being pelted and screamed at by fans during their sets.
Notably, Pink had both a wheel of brie and human ashes thrown at her during sets in 2023, and other artists like Harry Styles, Adele and Billie Eilish all went viral during this period after being hit by an audience pelt.
In more serious incidents, Bebe Rexha shared shocking images of her facial injuries after being pelted on stage. Cardi B also attracted controversy, when she threw her microphone at a fan who pelted her with a drink on stage in 2023.
Dr Lucy Bennett from Cardiff University says that in the era of social media, getting “noticed” by an artist has become more of a concern for concertgoers - whether it be online or at the concert.
"If you're in the same physical space as them, and you're throwing something, then you're going to get noticed," she says.
However, many fans argue that, given the skyrocketing price of concert tickets in recent years, they should be free to record as many memories from the concert as they can.
