Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX BRIT Awards 2025 controversy proves how far we’ve come—and how far we have left to go
The 2025 BRIT Awards aired last week, which resulted in Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX at the center of over 800 complaints to Ofcom, the U.K.’s independent broadcasting regulator and “media watchdog,” in the aftermath. The problem? “Skimpy” outfits and a “raunchy” performance from Carpenter.
This year’s BRITs were big for both Carpenter and XCX. Carpenter took home the International Success Award after opening the show with a double-whammy performance of “Bed Chem” and her smash hit “Espresso.” Essex native XCX was the night’s biggest winner in the wake of her Brat album’s cultural domination, picking up the Mastercard Album of the Year, Best Dance Act, and Song of the Year awards for Brat and her single “Guess” (featuring Billie Eilish), respectively. Both women have won big with their most recent bodies of work, each having taken home multiple Grammys last month, too.
But massive wins for these pop artists weren’t enough to distract BRIT viewers from their outfits, with Carpenter’s “Bed Chem” performance being a major point of contention. The Daily Mail and The Mirror were (perhaps unsurprisingly) among the first to report rumors of lengthy complaints to Ofcom. The network works with academic researchers to dispel election disinformation, among other things. But of course, there are bigger problems, like what women are wearing on live TV, which matters quite a lot before the 9 PM watershed (Everything broadcast before 9 PM should be reasonably child friendly).
As reported by BBC, Ofcom received 825 complaints as of March 6, most relating to XCX’s outfit and Carpenter’s performance. Though some common criticisms can be valid, like what’s appropriate for young viewers, the larger controversy still seems rather silly.
What’s the controversy?
Sabrina Carpenter opened the 2025 BRIT Awards with her performance of her summer hit “Espresso,” leading into her sultry single “Bed Chem.” As its title suggests, the latter is about a long-distance relationship with ample chemistry in the bedroom, likely chosen for its apt lyric, “You say you’re not in my time zone but you wanna be.” Naturally, the performance involved a lot of legwork. But that’s not all.
Carpenter kicked off “Bed Chem” in a red teddy, which was quickly torn away to reveal a lingerie-inspired ensemble—one in a series of many that the artist has been known to slip into for her performances on tour and throughout the 2024/2025 awards season. Her style has been criticized by shocked parents, men with bisexual girlfriends, and even some feminists since the start of her Short n’ Sweet era, sparking debate about her “sex symbol” image and whether its embrace marks a step forward or backward. It’s no surprise the complaints have kept coming with her BRITs appearance, but one cultural nod was the cherry on top that really set critics off.
Closing out “Bed Chem” on a flirty note, Carpenter got close with a guard and knelt down as both went below stage, the dancer sharing a wink with the audience. Critics say the suggestive moment crossed a line. Carpenter later joked on Instagram that she “now knows what watershed is.”
As for Charli XCX, her offense was far less … offensive? The Brat artist attended the BRITs in a sheer black dress from Turkish-British designer Dilara Findikoglu’s fall 2025 collection. While the designer’s “Venus from Chaos” garments are having a viral moment on social media, XCX is facing backlash for her choice of wear because, well, you can kind of see her nipples. She addressed this in one of her BRITs speeches: “I heard that ITV were complaining about my nipples.”
Honestly, it’s giving Rihanna in a Swarovski crystal gown, asking, “My t*ts bother you?” Only that was—and it pains me to say this—over a decade ago, and we’re still asking the same question.
There will always be disagreements about what’s appropriate for young viewers to see, and it wouldn’t help to compare apples to oranges when it comes to cultural differences between the U.S. and the U.K. But despite the massive successes of some of the biggest female pop artists we’ve seen in years, we’re still reiterating the same conversations about their bodies, what they’re wearing, and how they do (or don’t) perform their sexuality in an increasingly conservative political climate. Evidently, we still have more work to do.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
