Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter has had her BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge removed from YouTube following a controversial ad-lib that was deemed inappropriate.
The former Disney star, 23, was performing her track Nonsense, which she regularly reworks, from her album Emails I Can’t Send.
As part of her BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge performance, she sang: “How quickly can you take your clothes off, pop quiz. I’m American I am not British, so BBC it stands for something different. This live lounge is so lit because I’m in it, innit”.
The singer was referencing the name of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which is also used as an explicit description of black male anatomy.
Twitter account Pop Crave first identified the removal of the video in a tweet featuring screenshots of the broadcasters YouTube channel, which has spread across the site.
BBC Radio 1 has deleted Sabrina Carpenter’s Live Lounge performance of “Nonsense” on YouTube after her ad-libbed outro was deemed inappropriate:
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) February 26, 2023
“How quickly can you take your clothes off, pop quiz // I’m American I am not British // so BBC it stands for something different //… https://t.co/J4tuH4sBD0 pic.twitter.com/UW61rlZhTB
The removal of the Live Lounge performance has divided users on social media, with some seeing the funny side of the ad-lib, while other users highlighted issues with the term on a wider scale.
Singer Charlie XCX highlighted the jokey nature of the ad-lib, tweeting: “sabrina carpenter explaining bbc on the bbc is so funny i can’t”.
sabrina carpenter explaining bbc on the bbc is so funny i can’t https://t.co/JYRSVZOkcA
— Charli (@charli_xcx) February 27, 2023
British author and journalist Bolu Babalola tweeted her support for the American singer: “I stand with Sabrina Carpenter.”
However, some users viewed the play on the BBC’s title inappropriate. One user said: “For people who don’t get it. It’s like if she did this on Disney owned channel or show. Like radio Disney or on capital. It was highly inappropriate. Funny. But not a good look.”
Another user said: “The way that all the people who love this aren’t “B” [Black]”
The way that all the people who love this aren’t “B” 🤷🏾♂️
— Jaxson (@jaxxxsonbliss) February 27, 2023
The BBC have since re-uploaded the video on its YouTube channel, having removed the reference to its name from the performance, though clips of the ad-lib continue to circulate social media.
Sabrina Carpenter boasts a huge social media following, with over 28M followers on Instagram and 13M on TikTok, and her popularity has been growing in the UK, with her 2021 Emails I Can’t Send project charting within the UK’s top albums chart, her first album to do so.
The singer also performed a rendition of Harry Styles’ Late Night Talking, from his album Harry’s House, as part of her Live Lounge performance.
The Evening Standard contacted the BBC for comment. In response, they said: “An unedited version of the video was briefly posted in error, and the correct version is now available for viewers to enjoy.”
