Sabrina Carpenter slammed for 'insensitive' reaction to Zaghrouta at Coachella festival

US singer Sabrina Carpenter has apologised after mislabelling a fan’s Zaghrouta, a traditional Arabic call of celebration, as yodelling while asking her to stop doing it.

Carpenter headlined the California musical festival Coachella on Friday, attended by thousands of spectators.

As Carpenter sat by her piano during one of her sets, a fan let out a Zaghrouta, which prompted the singer to address it directly.

"I think I heard someone yodel. Is that what you’re doing? I don’t like it", she said in response.

The fan then told her that the vocal sound was part of their culture, to which Carpenter sarcastically asked, "That’s your culture, is yodelling?"

A member of the audience attempted to give more information by saying that the Zaghrouta, a high-pitched vocal sound used across several Arab cultures across the Middle East and North Africa, was a call of celebration.

Carpenter again dismissed the attempt to explain the tradition, and rhetorically asked: "Is this Burning Man? What’s going on? This is weird".

I’m in a complete shock. I used to be a huge sabrina carpenter fan and now she’s mocking my culture and calling me “weird”, this is so racist and inappropriate and it made me feel uncomfortable. this white blonde racist woman should be cancelled. pic.twitter.com/8jG9IoFwzo

— Kevin (@maxlldr) April 11, 2026

The exchange was recorded and shared online, where it quickly attracted backlash and negative commentary accusing the Pennsylvania-born artist of being dismissive and culturally insensitive.

The Zaghrouta is commonly heard at weddings and other occasions that call for a celebration in Arab and Middle Eastern communities and is considered a form of cultural expression, while yodelling comes from the European Alps and is unrelated to it.

The criticism prompted Carpenter to issue an apology on Saturday.

"My apologies I didn’t see this person with my eyes and couldn’t hear clearly", she posted on X. "My reaction was pure confusion, sarcasm and not ill intended".

The singer admitted that she "could have handled it better" and that she now knew what a Zaghrouta was, ending her statement with, "I welcome all cheers and yodels from here on out".