Olivia Rodrigo has responded to controversy over a recent babydoll dress she wore while performing on stage in Spain, calling the criticism sexist and saying it highlights how society normalizes pedophilia.
Backlash Over Outfit Choice
The singer faced backlash online after she wore a short puffy dress with a floral pattern while performing her recent single Drop Dead at Barcelona's Teatre Grec on 8 May. She also wears a similar style dress on the cover of her upcoming album.
In an interview with the New York Times' Popcast, Rodrigo expressed her distress over the criticism. "That's been making me so upset," she said.
Rodrigo pointed out that she has worn revealing outfits on stage before without backlash. "What's really disturbing is I feel like I have worn outfits that are revealing on stage. Like, I've been on stage in like a sparkly bra, little shorts, which is my right. That's fun. I felt cool and comfortable in that. And that wasn't 'inappropriate' – but me fully covered up in a dress that people deem to be childlike was inappropriate," she explained.
Normalizing Pedophilia
The singer added: "I think it shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture. And also it's just this rhetoric that we're fed as girls since we're so little, which is like, 'Don't wear that because then a man is going to sexualize your body and it's your fault.' Like, it's so weird."
Rodrigo noted that the babydoll dress has been an iconic outfit for 90s female punk stars. "I didn't think I looked sexy in that at all. I was like, 'This is so cool. I feel like I look like Kathleen Hanna or Courtney Love,' all these people who are my heroes," she said.
After Rodrigo received backlash, Courtney Love posted Instagram stories in support of the singer.
New Album and Tour
Rodrigo is promoting her forthcoming third album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, out on 12 June. In a review of Drop Dead, the album's lead single, the Guardian's Laura Snapes praised its "melody destined to stalk listeners' brains all summer."
Rodrigo has said that the new album finds her exploring lighter themes that may surprise listeners familiar with ballads such as Drivers License and Vampire and fiery songs including Good 4 U. "I was really excited to write about joy, love and passion in a way that I had never really done," the singer said to Cosmopolitan recently. "Most of my big songs are about being sad, angry, heartbroken."
Last year Rodrigo headlined the UK's Glastonbury festival. In October she called out the White House for using her music in anti-immigration videos, slamming it as "racist, hateful propaganda."
The video for Rodrigo's recent single The Cure saw her wearing a pink nurse's outfit while performing in a hospital with retro decor. Ahead of the release of her new album, she has announced a fall US tour with UK and Europe dates to follow early next year.
