EPA/ShutterstockUS pop star Sabrina Carpenter has been granted a temporary restraining order against a man following a series of what she called “deeply alarming” incidents at her home.
In court documents seen by the BBC’s US partner CBS, lawyers for Carpenter said she was seeking a full court order against William Applegate, who she alleges tried to force his way into her house in Los Angeles last month and returned twice more.
The singer said the incidents had left her in “significant and ongoing fear” for her personal safety.
She wrote in a signed declaration: “His pattern of stalking, trespassing, and surveillance has caused me severe and ongoing emotional distress.”
Her legal declaration claims that the man appeared at her home uninvited on several occasions in recent weeks, tried to break in and refused to leave when confronted by her security, claiming he knew the star and that she had been expecting him.
During one “deeply alarming” incident on 23 May, Carpenter claims that he made his way to her front door – after trespassing onto her neighbour’s property – and tried to open it, before ringing the doorbell and refusing to leave until the police arrived to arrest him.
“[He] fabricated the outrageous and entirely false claim that he personally knew me and that I was expecting him. This was a complete lie,” Carpenter wrote.
She said he returned less than 24 hours later and loitered outside her house for hours.
The next day, he allegedly returned again and parked outside her home.
Carpenter said the incident in which he allegedly attempted to enter her home “is among the most disturbing violations of personal safety and privacy I have ever experienced”.
The Grammy winner – who submitted doorbell camera footage alongside her court filings – asked for a restraining order to protect her and two other people who live with her, her sister and her sister’s boyfriend.
On Friday, a judge temporarily granted the request, ordering the man to stay at least 100 yards from Carpenter, her home, her car and her workplace, as well as the other residents.
A follow-up court hearing is set for 17 June. The man is due in criminal court the following day over his arrest for criminal trespassing.
Detective Peter Doomanis of the Los Angeles Police Department said in his declaration, filed with Carpenter’s petition, that he believes the man has “developed a disturbing and irrational fixation on petitioner”.
He continued: “The pattern of his conduct, which may have begun as early as approximately 20 April 2026, reflects the hallmarks of a fixated, obsessional individual.
“This trajectory is consistent with well-documented patterns of stalking behaviour that pose a serious and escalating risk [to] victim safety.”
