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Sabrina Carpenter doesn’t hold back — as evidenced by her saucy bangers like “Espresso” and “Taste.” In a recent video interview with W, Carpenter revealed some of her childhood celebrity crushes — some of whom might come as a surprise.
On a song called “Slim Pickins” from her new album Short N’ Sweet, Carpenter reels over disappointing men, and notes “the lord forgot my gay awakening.” But this didn’t keep her from appreciating some fellow lady pop hitmakers.
Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter attend the 2023 Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. In September 2024, Carpenter made a surprising confession about Swift.
John Shearer/Getty Images for MTV
“It’s funny, all the posters on my wall were women,” Carpenter said. “All my girl crushes were Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande.”
Little did young Carpenter know that her childhood girl crush would manifest into her joining Swift on her critically-acclaimed Eras Tour.
Elsewhere in the interview, Carpenter revealed another one of her crushes, who also happens to be a singer and actor.
“I had a very dangerous Zac Efron phase when he was playing Link in Hairspray,” Carpenter said. “He was dancing, and he was singing, and that’s obviously up my alley, and I love hair, and I was blown away.”
She continued, sharing a story of a time she met Efron when she was 12 years old.
“I saw him, and I walked up to him, and I said, ‘I’m a big fan of your work.’ And he gave me a hug,” said Carpenter. “I remember being like, ‘Oh my god, he wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he gave me a hug. I was like, ‘This is amazing; I’m never washing my body.'”
Later this month, Carpenter will kick off her Short N’ Sweet tour in Columbus, Ohio on Monday, September 23. The tour will run through November and wrap in Los Angeles, California.