Sabrina Carpenter Lost Out on ‘Conners’ Role — ‘Thank God,’ Whitney Cummings Says
Sabrina Carpenter might have said “Please Please Please” to The Conners’ casting agents, but former showrunner Whitney Cummings is glad the pop star didn’t get a part on the Roseanne spinoff.
Cummings revealed the casting near-miss with People last week at ELLE’s Women in Hollywood Celebration in Beverly Hills, California.
While reflecting on getting comfortable with rejection in Hollywood — which she deemed one of the biggest lessons she has learned about showbiz — Cummings shared that Carpenter auditioned on the day they were casting the part of Harris Conner-Healy on the Roseanne revival. Emma Kenney was eventually cast in that role, and the revival aired one season as Roseanne before being rebooted as The Conners without Roseanne Barr.
“Sabrina Carpenter auditioned … and it wasn’t the right fit,” Cummings said. “She got a rejection that day when we were casting the daughter.”
Justin Stephens/Disney
But Cummings is glad that Carpenter missed out — because it means Carpenter was free to become the successful recording artist she is today. “Thank God we said no to her,” Cummings said. “Because she’d be stuck on a sitcom set and not being Sabrina Carpenter.”
Cummings adds: “I think that we’re still trained in our society to want to win and get a yes. Sometimes a yes is the worst thing you can get, because then you’re stuck on the wrong show for 7 years. You’re in the wrong thing.”
Carpenter, who rose to prominence as an actor in Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World, has had a banner year in 2024. Her sixth album Short n’ Sweet became her first No. 1 album, debuting atop the Billboard 200 this September and topping that chart for four weeks. That album boasts the hit songs “Espresso,” “Taste,” and the No. 1 single “Please Please Please.”
Now Carpenter is up for six Grammy Awards: Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Solo Performance (for “Espresso”), Song of the Year (for “Please Please Please”), Record of the Year (for “Espresso”), Album of the Year, and Best New Artist.
The Conners, meanwhile, is heading into its final season, which will premiere on ABC next March.
The Conners, Season 7 Premiere, March 2025, ABC
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