Sabrina Carpenter fears she's being "shamed" for wearing skimpy outfits on stage just like Britney Spears and Madonna.

The singer has hit back at her critics by insisting she should be able to express her sexuality through her costumes and her music - and compared herself to other pop icons who have been condemned over their sexy image.

Sabrina told The Sun newspaper: " My message has always been clear - if you can't handle a girl who is confident in her own sexuality, then don't come to my shows ...

"Female artists have been shamed forever. In the Noughties it was Rihanna, in the Nineties it was Britney Spears, in the Eighties it was Madonna - and now it's me."

She added of her critics: "It is totally regressive. It's like those who want to shame don't make comments when I talk about self-care or body ­positivity or heartbreak, which are all normal things a 25-year-old goes through.

"They just want to talk about the ­sexual side of my performances."

It comes after pop producer Pete Waterman - who was part of the Stock Aitken Waterman production team which rose to fame in the 1980s - hit out at the singer over her choice of outfits.

He previously told The Sun: "To see Sabrina Carpenter dressed as a little girl is quite offensive. She doesn't need that.

"She's got great talent, and yet the whole of the industry, these girls come out in as little as possible because they know they're driving young boys to their websites."

Mike Stock went on to criticise Sabrina's suggestive lyrics, adding: "You'd always be allegorical or allude to it somehow. So I don't like that.

"I think it's a bad show and it's lazy. You're going to grab some form of ­attention by doing that."

Sabrina previously admitted she was "led astray" during the early stages of her career but she's thankful for her experiences as she's learned to trust her instincts as a result.

The 25-year-old star told Time magazine: "For a long time, I was constantly guided and misguided.

"I'm so grateful for all of those times where I was led astray, because now I'm a lot more equipped going into situations where I have to trust my own instincts."

Sabrina also shared how she feels "so prepared" for fame after growing up watching the MTV Video Music Awards.

The 'Espresso' hitmaker performed at the event last year and she admitted it was a dream come true. She said: "I grew up watching those performances and being like, 'I want to do that'...

"[It was] another dream realised. "It all just seemed so - not even out of reach, just like I had a different plan in my head of when it was all supposed to happen."

Sabrina then told about how she is able to embrace fame: "I feel so prepared for these moments. "If I was even 17 or 18, I think I would have been way, way more nervous and intimidated."