Sabrina Carpenter made a pro-trans statement with her 2025 VMAs performance
Her live debut of “Tears” also included a Britney homage.
Sabrina Carpenter's "Tears" might be the year's newest horny anthem but it turns out it's also a moment for the pop star to stand behind some real business.
At the 2025 VMAs on Sunday night, the singer turned her performance of the new single into a political statement as she staged a Protect the Dolls protest where she was joined on stage by drag queens and ballroom dancer Honey Balenciaga.
Channeling the same spirited vibe of the song's music video (which featured Oscar nominee Colman Domingo in drag), the performance kicked off as a vibrant throwback block party and with Carpenter crawling out of a sewer grate. Later, "Protect the Dolls" picket signs appeared on stage with hunky police officers gyrating along as Carpenter closed the performance with a Britney-coded in-the-rain dance break and more "protect trans rights" signs.
The star's music video for the song channeled Rocky Horror with Domingo playing a campy, horrorfied version of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. It arrived with her latest studio album, Man's Best Friend, on August 29.
Protect the Dolls is a rallying cry that originated in 1980s ballroom scene that's recently experienced a resurgence in popular media as celebrities have donned "Protect the Dolls" shirts in response to rising anti-trans legislation in the U.S. Troye Sivan, Pedro Pescal, Addison Rae, and more have all been photographed with the slogan on their shirts recently.
Watch Carpenter's 2025 VMAs performance of "Tears" below.