Olivia Rodrigo won’t let her critics bring her down.
The “Good 4 You” singer, 23, called the online discussion surrounding her babydoll dress “really disturbing” in a clip for The New York Times’ “Popcast” and pointed out the problem with people sexualizing the fully covered dress.
“I never thought I looked sexy wearing it. I thought this was so cool. I feel like I look like Kathleen Hanna and Courtney Love, all these guys who are my heroes,” Rodrigo said, citing the ’90s riot grrrl musicians whose babydoll and combat boots uniform she has guided through a new era.
“I think this shows how we normalize pedophilia in our culture,” she added.
The controversy was sparked when Rodrigo wore a powder blue Chloé ensemble and bloomers in her music video for “Drop Dead,” and performed at Spotify’s Billions Club Live concert in Barcelona earlier this month wearing a floral Génération 78 top repurposed as a babydoll minidress.
A video of the pop star crawling around on stage and exposing her frilly bloomers while performing her hit song “Brutal” has gone viral online. This song partly reflects our culture’s exploitation of teenage girls.
X users were quick to call it “pedobait” and said the costume “looks like you’re cosplaying a child.” Some brought up the Epstein files and the controversial 1955 novel “Lolita,” about a middle-aged man’s obsession with a pre-teen girl.
The Grammy winner pointed out the double standard between dresses and revealing outfits on stage. “I’m standing on stage wearing a sparkly bra and little shorts. It’s my right and it’s fun and I felt cool and comfortable,” she said. “It wasn’t inappropriate, but I covered my whole body in a dress that people found childish and inappropriate.”
“I think if we start dressing like, ‘I don’t want these motherfuckers to think I’m sexy as a baby,’ or crazy things like that, then the plot gets lost a little bit,” she continued.
Some advocates even question whether the outrage is genuine. Rolling Stone noted that while there have been no confirmed coordinated attacks against Rodrigo, the backlash mirrors recent bot smear campaigns against Taylor Swift and Chapel Lawn.
Her third album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, will be released on June 12th, and her 65-date Unraveled Tour will kick off on September 25th.
