Olivia Rodrigo Calls Dress Backlash Pedophilia
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Olivia Rodrigo said the criticism of her babydoll dress “normalizes pedophilia” in a New York Times Popcast clip.
- Olivia Rodrigo wore the babydoll dress in the “Drop Dead” music video and at Spotify’s Billions Club Live concert, prompting online backlash that the look infantilized and sexualized her.
- Olivia Rodrigo contrasted the dress with previous stage outfits—sparkly bra and little shorts—arguing those were appropriate while a fully childlike dress was deemed inappropriate.
- Olivia Rodrigo clarified the dress was an homage to 90s rock icons Kathleen Hanna and Courtney Love, not an attempt to appear sexy.
- Olivia Rodrigo said she is protective of younger women and girls and wants to challenge rhetoric that sexualizes them.
- Olivia Rodrigo is promoting her upcoming third album “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,” releasing June 12, after releasing singles “Drop Dead” and “The Cure,” with tour plans later this year.
Why it matters: Her remarks spotlight a cultural double standard that labels adult women’s revealing outfits as acceptable but condemns childlike clothing, potentially shifting public discourse and giving younger women a voice against harmful rhetoric, while challenging how fashion criticism is framed in pop culture.
Ask SkimNews
