"Bros never seen Nirvana's album"— Debate ensues as internet reacts to Melanie Martinez ‘Soap’ cover controversy

Singer-songwriter Melanie Martinez is currently trending across social media platforms after a TikTok post claimed that the cover art of her 2015 single, Soap, showed a kid in a bathtub.

Trigger warning: This article has references to sexual abuse. Readers' discretion is advised.

The TikTok post, originally posted by @shooterloverz on January 6, featured an image of Martinez with the following words written over it:

“‘She didn’t draw cp.’ Her cover art is a toddler in the bathtub gagging on a bar of soap with her toes peeking out the bubbles.”

Soon, the post's screenshot circulated across other social networking sites, particularly X. A few hours later, user Anna, aka @nymflopogy, reposted it on X using the caption:

“So, basically over 40k ppl liked a TikTok interpreting a child bathing as p*rnographic.”

Soon, the post triggered a debate on the platform. One netizen (@bunysilk) shared the alleged animated cover art of a young girl lying in a bathtub surrounded by bubbles with a soap bar in her mouth.

Another netizen (@duxaluxa3005) countered it by sharing the actual cover image of Soap that showed Melanie Martinez posing with a bar of soap and the word “SOAP” written on it, taken from its promotional music video.

“This isn’t the cover btw, it’s from the storybook booklet. In which also the song talks about the character she depicts wanting to wash her mouth out with soap because she’s scared if what she’d say to someone she likes. This is the actual single cover,” the caption read.

Many people joined this online debate and shared their opinions under the original tweet. For instance, Abby, aka @digitalmisfit3, wrote:

“Bros never seen Nirvana’s album.”

Others believe the “storybook booklet” version is the original cover.

“Melanie Martinez fans will tell you with a straight face that there's nothing wrong with this cover art,” a person wrote.

“Fans may love the aesthetic but it’s a reminder that sometimes what’s beautiful on the surface can mask deeper issues,” one person wrote.

“This is an interesting discussion. Personally, I think that's the point of the cover and that album? That behind the cutesy aesthetic are themes discussing SA, family problems, childhood trauma etc.” a user wrote.

“Oh god I had not seen it, yeah it’s definitely weird,” wrote another.

Others continued to weigh in and defended Melanie Martinez.

“Art is subjective, not everyone will share the same opinion...” a netizen wrote.

“You guys will literally do anything to start problems with music artists literally nobody had a problem with this before but now all of a sudden it’s a problem??” an individual asked.

“It’s bold and unapologetically Melanie her creativity always shines through!” wrote another.

So far, Melanie Martinez has not commented on the latest controversy.

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Melanie Martinez was involved in an assault scandal in 2017

Timothy Heller, who’s a former singer and now-estranged friend of Melanie Martinez, accused her of s*xual assault in 2017. Taking to X, Heller wrote at the time:

“I never said yes. I said no, repeatedly. But she used her power over me and broke me down. Just so there is no confusion, I was m*lested by my best friend.”

She claimed that Melanie Martinez repeatedly asked whether she would engage in physical relations with her. However, Heller alleged that despite her repeated refusal, Martinez took advantage of her, including touching her breasts when she was under the influence of weed, performing oral s*x, and later penetration using a s*x toy.

"The bottom line that I need to always remind myself is that: I said no…FOR TWO NIGHTS STRAIGHT. It doesn't matter that I didn't resist during the action. I had been broken down. She knew I didn't want to, I made that clear. I didn't scream at her, I didn't force her off of me. 1, because I loved her. 2, because I just wanted it to all be over," Timothy added.

The alleged victim also confirmed that Melanie Martinez had taken her in, which is why she felt she owed her. In the wake of the allegations, The Voice alum issued a statement in a now-removed tweet, citing she was “horrified and saddened” by Timothy Heller's "story."

“What she and I shared was a close friendship for a period of time. We came into each other’s lives as we were both starting our careers as artists, and we tried to help each other. We both had pain dealing with our individual demons and the new paths we were forging, but I truly felt we were trying to lift each other up,” Melanie Martinez wrote back then.

The Queens singer added,

“She never said no to what we chose to do together. And although we parted ways, I am sending her love and light always.”

Subsequently, she wrote that she understood it was “hard” to see her “side of the story,” adding that she didn’t want to “invalidate” Timothy. However, Melanie Martinez insisted she would “never be intimate with someone without their absolute consent.”

Years later, in a TikTok video posted in July 2024, the accuser doubled down on her previous claims and shared how “speaking out against my abuser ruined my life.”

"During the #MeToo movement, I chose to speak out against a former friend who had SA-ed me. I was young, naive, and could never imagine how this would end up affecting my life… She clearly didn’t understand how consent works and she admitted that something took place between us," Heller added.

However, later, during a 2024 interview with Daily Mail, she reportedly got confused about the timeline of the alleged assault, following which she earned criticisms from Melanie Martinez’s fans.

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Soap was released as the second single from the July 2015 album Cry Baby, along with a promotional music video and multiple remixes. During an interview with ELLE Magazine that same year, Melanie Martinez said the song was about being vulnerable in love and revolved around the theme of “washing your mouth with soap.”

The expression alluded to the age-old technique used by parents to wash their children's mouths with soap if they utter obscenities.