Madonna's 'revenge' against Sabrina Carpenter failed as Espresso singer didn't 'eat humble pie'
Madonna's 'revenge' against Sabrina Carpenter failed as Espresso singer didn't 'eat humble pie'
Hannah FurnellMon, September 28, 2026 at 2:28 PM UTC
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Madonna was out for revenge on Sabrina Carpenter at the 2026 MTV VMAs -Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited
Madonna was not afraid to take "revenge" on Sabrina Carpenter on stage at the 2026 MTV VMAs, but the Espresso singer didn't fold and "eat humble pie," after a dig, an expert claims.
On Sunday, September 28, at MTV's annual awards ceremony, the pop icon, 68, and Carpenter, 27, won Best Collaboration for Bring Your Love. However, when the pair took to the stage to receive their award, Madonna couldn't help but reveal the awkward way the collaboration came about.
She revealed that after not hearing back from Carpenter's team for five days, she personally DM'ed the singer to ask if she wanted to collaborate on a song. As Madonna told the "true story," Carpenter looked mildly uncomfortable but ultimately just laughed off the awkward moment. Now, body language expert Judi James says Madonna was out to embarrass Carpenter, but her efforts failed.
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"Everybody who knows me knows how impatient I am," Madonna began with Carpenter beside her. She then took things in an awkward direction, adding, "When five days passed, and I still didn't get connected with Sabrina and didn’t hear back from her about whether she wanted to do a song with me—5 days—I DM'ed her."
"And this is a true story, she answered me back, and I don’t know, within weeks we were in the studio together. It was fabulous," Madonna continued. Carpenter looked a little shocked by Madonna's admission of how their collaboration began, but James claims that she ultimately brushed it off.
Sabrina Carpenter and Madonna won Best Collaboration for Bring Your Love at the 2026 MTV VMAs -Credit:INSTAGRAM /
The body language expert told The Mirror US, "Take most people's worst moments of social embarrassment and multiply it by ten, and that's how Sabrina should have been feeling as a genuine pop icon Madonna called her out on stage for not returning her call about collaborating for the show."
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James explained Madonna should've been embarrassed for revealing the story, saying, "For Madonna, the sense of revenge should have been tempered by the fact that she was presumably lowered by Sabrina's team. Many people would prefer not to lose face in public by telling the story."
Meanwhile, James thinks Carpenter should've been at least humbled, but wasn't. She said, "For Sabrina, there should have been a moment of mortification at what she'd done. Her one respectful way out would have been to eat humble pie and save Madonna's face by yelling out, 'I didn't believe the message could really have been from you!,' which would have put Madonna back up on her rightful pedestal again, but instead Sabrina just smiles round at the audience in a non verbal 'aside' and purses her lips as though she finds what she did funny."
Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter shared an awkward moment at the MTV VMAs, but Carpenter brushed it off -Credit:Stewart Cook/CBS
The expert added, "Madonna's body language leakage suggests some rightful indignation here. When she starts off with, 'I'd like to say...,' her hand appears to be rolled into a fist, suggesting some inner anger, and her fingers are rigidly spiked as she talks about the five days of being ignored.
"There is also a chopping gesture, and when she holds up five fingers to repeat the 'five days' complaint, she then performs a tongue-poke gesture that is often linked to rejection or disgust."
James concluded, "Sabrina's brows do eventually steeple here and she looks round with a comedy wince of pain before letting out a yelping laugh but there's no real apology or conciliatory self-humbling ritual in this clip towards the icon herself, her expressions are mainly for the audience."
Madonna opened the MTV VMAs with a performance with Sabrina Carpenter and Charli xcx -Credit:VMAs
Viewers at home noticed the awkward exchange between the singers. "This was soooo awkward…. I felt like Sabrina wanted to hurry up and get off that stage…," one Instagram user commented on a clip of the moment. "Idk it felt awkward and staged lol," another noted. "Sabrina's signature laugh always hits during awkwardness," said a third.
Madonna opened the VMAs with her first performance at the awards ceremony in 23 years. She kicked things off with a club-inspired medley from Confessions II. Carpenter joined her at the piano for Bring Your Love, while Charli xcx later appeared for a remix of Danceteria.
Madonna was the VMAs' most-nominated artist with 13 total nods after additional categories were announced. The pop singer won a handful of awards, including Artist of the Year and Best Album for Confessions II, plus Best Dance, Cinematography, Choreography, and Best Long Form Video for Confessions II – The Film.
For Bring Your Love, Madonna and Carpenter were also nominated together for Song of the Year. However, BTS won for their song Swim.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
