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Sabrina Carpenter<\/a> has apologised for her reaction to a fan\u2019s Arabic celebration call<\/a> at Coachella<\/a>, explaining her response was \u201cpure confusion\u201d.<\/p>\n The 26-year-old pop star was the first headliner of the 2026 California music festival, delivering an Old Hollywood-themed performance on Friday night (10 April).<\/p>\n Carpenter ignited some debate, however, when she responded to a fan in the audience who let out a Zaghrouta<\/a> \u2013 an Arabic celebration call performed by women to express joy at events such as weddings, graduations, and births. It is described as a high-pitched, trilling sound.<\/p>\n Speaking into the mic, the \u201cEspresso\u201d singer said: \u201cI think I heard someone yodel. Is that what you\u2019re doing? I don\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n The fan yelled back: \u201cIt\u2019s my culture!\u201d to which Carpenter replied: \u201cThat\u2019s your culture, is yodelling?\u201d The fan could then be heard explaining: \u201cIt\u2019s a call of celebration.\u201d Carpenter quipped in return: \u201cIs this Burning Man? What\u2019s going on? This is weird.\u201d<\/p>\n Her response sparked backlash on social media, with some people condemning Carpenter\u2019s words as culturally insensitive.<\/p>\n On Saturday (12 April), Carpenter addressed the controversy in a statement on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cMy apologies, I didn\u2019t see this person with my eyes and couldn\u2019t hear clearly,\u201d she wrote on X<\/a>. \u201cMy reaction was pure confusion, sarcasm and not ill intended. Could have handled it better! Now I know what a Zaghrouta is! I welcome all cheers and yodels from here on out.\u201d<\/p>\n Video of the moment spread across social media, igniting a heated debate over how Carpenter handled the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way Sabrina doubled down and decided to continue to be ignorant even after it was clarified yodelling is part of that person’s culture says a lot about her,\u201d one person wrote.<\/p>\n Others defended the singer, with another person writing: \u201cShe\u2019s a pop star, not a f***ing anthropologist, leave Sabrina Carpenter alone.\u201d<\/p>\n