Olivia Rodrigo recently addressed the babydoll dress debate and slammed those who criticized her for wearing the outfit. Rodrigo remarked that people who had a negative opinion of her dress were in fact “normalizing pedophilia.” She also alluded that the criticism comes from sexist attitudes towards her.
Olivia Rodrigo speaks out on babydoll dress controversy
Olivia Rodrigo has addressed her recent babydoll dress controversy in an interview with The New York Times’s Popcast. For those unversed, the 23-year-old singer modeled a short, floral dress while performing on stage in Barcelona, Spain, earlier this month. Notably, she also wore a similar style dress on the cover of her upcoming album (via The Guardian).
However, Rodrigo wasn’t taking the criticism lying down and launched a counterattack against her critics. The “traitor” singer remarked that she has worn revealing outfits like a sparkly bra and little shorts on stage before, but nobody had an issue with that. Rodrigo continued, “And that wasn’t ‘inappropriate’ – but me fully covered up in a dress that people deem to be childlike was inappropriate.”
Furthermore, the pop star retorted, “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.”
Moreover, Rodrigo pointed out 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, ‘I feel like I look like Kathleen Hanna or Courtney Love,’ all these people who are my heroes.”
Fans shared their take on Rodrigo’s statement in the comments. One fan commented, “Women have been wearing babydoll dresses for decades, PLEASE TOUCH GRASS PEOPLE, there are actual serious problems in the world to care about I promise you.” A second fan called out the singer, stating, “This is normalizing it. It’s more straightforward to just wear a bra. I don’t think it is confusing. She knows what she is doing. Own it.”
Rodrigo’s forthcoming album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love will be released on June 12.
