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 really look like a Madonna music video. Regardless, the Material Girl was still the inspiration for the music video. Here’s a look at how Pamela Anderson, Jennifer Lopez, and Rihanna all play a role in this story.

Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” was inspired by Madonna and Ben Affleck

The humorous video for “Please Please Please” shows Carpenter helping her boyfriend, Barry Keoghan, escape from prison. He then gets caught again. Much like the song itself, the music video is funny and melancholy. Some viewers will take it literally, but it could be understood as an allegory for the relevant problem of making the same mistakes no matter how many times you should have learned your lesson.

The music video encapsulates Carpenter’s glamorous image and signature sense of humor. The music video was directed by Bardia Zeinali. During an interview with GQ in 2024, 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 great reference. Born killers. Bonnie and Clyde, obviously. Even Thelma and Louise.

“We were really looking at the cinematic references more than anything else and the pop culture references in terms of what we wanted the spirit of that 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 a really exciting young couple, both having big moments in their respective careers, coming together and creating a work of art. But it’s really not real life, it’s a story.

Zeinali was also inspired by Rihanna’s violent and controversial music video for “Bitch Better Have My Money.” “That clip changed my life,” he said. “I remember exactly where I was when I watched it. It was really a video that had (an) impact. It was so badass, so brave to take risks, that ferocity.

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 it. She proved that music videos could be more provocative (“Like a Virgin”), sacrilegious (“Like a Prayer”), perverse (“Justify My Love”), expensive (“Die Another Day”) and homoerotic (“Don’t “Tell me”) that they had never been before. It was almost inevitable that Carpenter would create something 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 feminism. Meanwhile, Carpenter drew influence from an episode in Material Girl’s personal life – her relationship with Dennis Rodman. Kudos to the “Espresso” singer for drawing inspiration from the Queen of Pop in an unexpected way.

Madonna has been named one of the most influential singers of modern times

In 2020, Spin named Madonna one of the most influential artists of the last 35 years. The magazine says Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus all owe him a lot of gratitude. I would 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 many singers who have come after her and Carpenter is no exception.