Rina Sawayama made a pointed observation about Sabrina Carpenter’s SNL performance this week.
As guest and musical host, Sabrina performed a rendition of “Nobody’s Son” against a martial arts-themed backdrop, complete with dancers performing a “karate” routine.
Rina, a British-Japanese singer and actor, subsequently took to her Instagram story to point out one of the potential issues with the performance.
“Big love to Sabrina ❤️ but fellow artists creative teams…if we are clearly referencing a culture please can you do so with the research, respect, and care it deserves,” Rina wrote. “Shoes on tatami is jail.”
Some did bring up a point that there may have been safety concerns with the performers being barefoot, meaning that the decision to perform with shoes may not have been that of Sabrina’s creative team. It is worth noting that Kacey Musgraves, Halsey, and Chris Martin have performed barefoot on SNL.
BuzzFeed has reached out to Sabrina’s choreographer for comment.