Sabrina Carpenter has issued an apology for mistaking the celebratory Arabic chant Zaghrouta for yodeling during her 2026 headlining Coachella set.
“Sorry, I didn’t see this person with my own eyes and couldn’t hear clearly. My reaction was pure confusion, sarcasm and not with ill intent. Could have handled it better! Now I know what Zagrota is!” the carpenter wrote x Saturday. “I welcome all the excitement and enthusiasm from here.”
in a viral clip From the “House Tour” singer’s performance at the Friday night concert, an audience member can be heard singing the Zaghrouta chant. “I think I heard someone yelling. Is that what you’re doing? I don’t like it,” Carpenter said onstage as she sat behind a piano.
“This is my culture,” the attendee told the Grammy winner. Carpenter responded, “It’s your culture, is yodeling?” “This is a call for celebration,” the audience member said.
“Is this Burning Man? What’s going on? It’s weird,” Carpenter replied. This conversation provoked a sharp reaction from Carpenter, who responded directly x “Sabrina is saying that she doesn’t like cultural Arabic enthusiasm… it’s very insensitive and Islamophobic. I’m very disappointed in her,” the post read.
Carpenter took to the Coachella main stage on Friday night, where she served as the first headliner of the 2026 festival. Justin Bieber and Karol G will also serve as this year’s headliners, and they will close the first weekend of music on Saturday and Sunday nights, 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 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 perform her second Coachella headlining performance on Friday, April 17.
