In a sea of queer pop princesses like Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish, and Reneé Rapp, one rising star stands out for her unabashed straightness: Sabrina Carpenter. But that doesn’t mean she’s shy about referencing gay culture, from giving her own rendition of Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” to kissing Jenna Ortega in her newest music video and singing about the good lord forgetting her gay awakening (complete with a Grindr notification sound effect). But her latest release, a deluxe version of her new album Short n’ Sweet, adds a song with a different take on queerness — one that verges on ironic homophobia.

On the new track “Busy Woman,” Carpenter tackles the topic of coping with romantic rejection. In the chorus, she spells it out loud and clear: “If you don’t need my love, well, I didn’t want your little b*tch-*ss anyway.” On social media she told fans the story of the song: “surprise b*tch! I wrote ‘Busy Woman’ with jack and amy just after i turned in short n’ sweet and was so sad i couldn’t include it,” she wrote. “it’s one of my favorites so i wanted to give it to you as a thank you for all of the love!!!!!”

But beyond the song’s catchy pop hook and the clever lyrics Carpenter’s become famous for, one line from the second verse raised the internet’s eyebrows. “If you don’t want me, I’ll just deem you gay.” It calls to mind a different era of pop: one where Katy Perry told her lover to hang himself with an H&M scarf on “Ur So Gay,” and Taylor Swift promised to spread gay allegations on “Picture to Burn,” and plenty of fans were happy to see Carpenter carry on the tradition.

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But it’s not 2008 anymore, and Carpenter’s take is getting mixed reactions. While some fans welcome the shade, others think it’s not her place to make that kind of joke.

Others wonder if it’s a reference to Carpenter’s ex-boyfriend Shawn Mendes, who’s no stranger to accusations of being in the closet, or it could refer to her other ex Joshua Bassett, who came out as bisexual in 2021. That’s assuming, of course, that the lyric is a reference to a real person in the first place, and not merely the cheeky musings of the jaded character Carpenter is playing for the song.

For now, the song is only available as a limited-time digital download on Carpenter’s website — or on YouTube, as long as copyright strikes don’t take down all the uploads.

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