Sabrina Carpenter has issued an apology for mistaking Zaghrouta, a celebratory Arabic chant, for yodeling during her 2026 headlining Coachella set.
“my apologies 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!” Carpenter wrote on X Saturday. “I welcome all cheers and yodels from here on out.”
In a viral clip from the “House Tour” singer’s performance at the music festival on Friday night, an audience member can be heard voicing a Zaghrouta chant. “I think I heard someone yodel. Is that what you’re doing? I don’t like it,” Carpenter said onstage while she sat behind a piano.
The attendee responded by telling the Grammy winner, “It’s my culture.” Carpenter responded, “That’s your culture, is yodeling?” The audience member added, “It’s a call of celebration.”
“Is this Burning Man? What’s going on? This is weird,” Carpenter replied. The interaction sparked backlash for Carpenter, who directly replied to an X post that wrote, “sabrina saying that she doesn’t like a cultural arabic cheer… this is so insensitive and islamophobic. i am very disappointed in her.”
Carpenter took the Coachella main stage on Friday night, where she served as the first headliner of the 2026 festival. Justin Bieber and Karol G also serve as this year’s headliners, and they will close out the first weekend of music on Saturday and Sunday night, respectively.
During Friday night’s set, the “Espresso” singer had a star-studded slate of cameos, including features from Sam Elliott, Susan Sarandon and Will Ferrell, while she also notably performed a few of her own tracks for the first time (including “We Almost Broke Up Last Night” and “When Did You Get Hot?” from her most recent record Man’s Best Friend).
Next week, Carpenter will deliver her second Coachella headlining performance on Friday, April 17.
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