How Madonna Inspired Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Please Please Please’
Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” looks like a lot of crime movies but it doesn’t feel much like a Madonna music video. Regardless, the Material Girl still inspired the clip. Here’s a look at how Pamela Anderson, Jennifer Lopez, and Rihanna all play into this story.
Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Please Please Please’ was inspired by Madonna and Ben Affleck
The darkly humorous video for “Please Please Please” depicts Carpenter helping her boyfriend, Barry Keoghan, break out of jail. He then gets caught again. Like the tune itself, the music video is funny and melancholy. Some viewers will take it at face value, but it could be understood as an allegory for the relatable problem of making the same mistakes no matter how many times you should have learned your lesson.
The clip encapsulates Carpenter’s glamorous image and her trademark sense of humor. The music video was directed by Bardia Zeinali. During a 2024 interview with GQ, he was asked if any pop culture couples inspired “Please Please Please.” “Yeah, Pam [Anderson] and Tommy [Lee],” he said. “Madonna and Dennis Rodman. Tarantino was a big reference point. Natural Born Killers. Bonnie and Clyde, obviously. Even Thelma & Louise.
“We were really looking at film references more than anything else and pop culture references in terms of what we wanted the spirit of this moment to be,” he added. “Even J.Lo and Ben Affleck — not to reference, but to capture that spirit. It’s similar in the sense that they’re this really exciting young couple, both having big moments in their respective careers, coming together and making a piece of art. But this is very much not real life — it’s a story.”
Zeinali also drew inspiration from the violent, controversial music video for Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money.” “That was life-changing for me, that music video,” he said. “I remember exactly where I was when I watched it. That was very much a video that had [an] impact. It was so badass, so unafraid to take a risk, that fierceness.”
Why Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Please Please Please’ music video is unique
Madonna is one of the most essential music video visionaries of all time. The art form wouldn’t be the same without her. She proved that music videos could be more provocative (“Like a Virgin”), sacrilegious (“Like a Prayer”), kinky (“Justify My Love”), expensive (“Die Another Day”), and homoerotic (“Don’t Tell Me”) than they ever had been before. It was almost inevitable that Carpenter would create something that was inspired by the Queen of Pop at some point, simply because her influence on modern pop culture is so pervasive.
When people think of Madonna, they often think of her bold sexuality, her attacks on the Roman Catholic Church, and her particular brand of feminism. Meanwhile, Carpenter was drawing influence from an episode of the Material Girl’s personal life — her relationship with Dennis Rodman. Kudos to the “Espresso” singer for taking inspiration from the Queen of Pop in an unexpected way.
Madonna was named 1 of the most influential singers of modern times
In 2020, Spin named Madonna one of the most influential artists of the past 35 years. The magazine said Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, and Miley Cyrus all owe her a debt of gratitude. I’d venture to say that female rappers like Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, and Megan Thee Stallion took some ideas from her as well.
Madonna has inspired so many singers who came after her and Carpenter is no exception.
