Olivia Rodrigo is pushing back hard against criticism over her recent babydoll dress looks, calling the backlash an example of how “we really normalize pedophilia in our culture.”
The singer addressed the controversy during an upcoming appearance on The New York Times’ Popcast, where she responded to online reactions to outfits she wore in her “Drop Dead” music video and at Spotify’s Billions Club Live concert in Barcelona earlier this month. Some critics accused the look of infantilizing or sexualizing the 23-year-old pop star, despite the outfits being relatively modest compared to some of her previous stagewear.
“That’s been making me so upset,” Rodrigo said in a preview clip from the interview. “Not even for me. People can say whatever they want.” She contrasted the reaction to the babydoll dresses with past performance outfits that included “a sparkly bra and little shorts,” arguing that the criticism revealed a larger cultural double standard.
“That wasn’t inappropriate, but me fully covered up in a dress that people deemed to be childlike was inappropriate,” she said.
Rodrigo explained that the outfits were never intended to project innocence or sexuality. Instead, she said the aesthetic was inspired by alternative rock icons she grew up admiring. “I was like, this is so cool. I feel I look like Kathleen Hanna or Courtney Love,” she said, referencing the riot grrrl and grunge influences that have increasingly shaped her image heading into her third album era.
The project follows the massive success of Sour and Guts, both of which transformed the former Disney actor into one of the defining pop stars of the decade.
That same interview also saw Rodrigo revisit another long-running internet narrative: the rumored feud with Sabrina Carpenter. Reflecting on the media frenzy sparked by “Drivers License” and Carpenter’s 2021 track “Skin,” Rodrigo dismissed the idea that the two are enemies. “I think she’s great,” she said. “It’s all love, though. I’ve talked to her many times.”
Now, Rodrigo appears equally determined to shut down the latest wave of online discourse surrounding her image. “If we start dressing in a way that’s like, ‘I don’t want some f**king freak to think that I’m sexy like a baby,’” she said, “I think it’s losing the plot a little bit.”
