Olivia Rodrigo says criticism of her babydoll dress ‘normalises paedophilia’
Olivia Rodrigo has shared her thoughts on the “disturbing” online backlash to her new look, consisting of 1990s-inspired babydoll dresses.
The ‘Vampire’ singer recently shared a music video for her latest single, ‘Drop Dead’, set to appear on her upcoming third album, You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love.
In it, she adorns a short dress with puffy sleeves from Chloé’s pre-fall 2026 collection, but social media has been less than supportive of the style choice, with Rodrigo facing accusations of looking immature and childlike.
Now, Rodrigo has responded to the unfair commentary in a new interview on The New York Times’ Popcast. When the interviewers brought up the backlash, the 23-year-old began, “That’s been making me so upset. Not even for me – like, I don’t care. People can say whatever they want.”
She went on, “What’s really, like, disturbing is I feel like I have worn outfits that are maybe revealing on stage. I’ve been on stage in a sparkly bra, little shorts, which is my right. That’s fun. I felt cool and comfortable in that.”
Rodrigo added, “And that wasn’t ‘inappropriate’, but me, fully covered up in a dress that people deem to be, like, childlike was ‘inappropriate’. And I just think it shows how we really normalise paedophilia in our culture.”
The former Disney star related this to how women are brought up, musing, “And also it’s just this rhetoric that we’re fed as girls since we’re so little, which is, ‘Don’t wear that because then a man is going to sexualize your body and it’s your fault’. Like it’s so weird. And I didn’t think I looked sexy in that at all.”
Rodrigo revealed that her intention with the look was to channel Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna or Hole’s Courtney Love.
She added, “I just think if we start dressing in a way that’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t want some freak to think that I am sexy like a baby’, or some crazy thing like that. I just think it’s like losing the plot a little bit.”
She concluded, “I’m just very protective of like younger women and girls, and I don’t ever want them to be fed that rhetoric, I guess. You shouldn’t be responsible for some guy sexualising you in a way that was never your intention.”
Rodrigo will return with her next album on June 12th.
From September, she will embark on a world tour, wherein she will be supported by the likes of Wolf Alice, Devon Again, The Last Dinner Party, Grace Ives, and Die Spitz.
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