{"id":700668,"date":"2026-05-28T19:49:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T19:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/700668\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T19:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T19:49:10","slug":"olivia-rodrigo-responds-to-babydoll-dress-criticism-it-shows-how-we-normalize-pedophilia-in-our-culture-olivia-rodrigo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/700668\/","title":{"rendered":"Olivia Rodrigo responds to babydoll dress criticism: \u2018It shows how we normalize pedophilia in our culture\u2019 | Olivia Rodrigo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Olivia Rodrigo<\/a> has responded to controversy over a recent babydoll dress she wore while performing on stage in Spain.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Teatre Grec on 8 May. She also wears a similar style dress on the cover of her upcoming album.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been making me so upset,\u201d Rodrigo said in an interview with the New York Times\u2019 Popcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s really disturbing is I feel like I have worn outfits that are revealing on stage. Like, I\u2019ve been on stage in like a sparkly bra, little shorts, which is my right. That\u2019s fun. I felt cool and comfortable in that. And that wasn\u2019t \u2018inappropriate\u2019 \u2013 but me fully covered up in a dress that people deem to be childlike was inappropriate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture,\u201d the singer added. \u201cAnd also it\u2019s just this rhetoric that we\u2019re fed as girls since we\u2019re so little, which is like, \u2018Don\u2019t wear that because then a man is going to sexualize your body and it\u2019s your fault.\u2019 Like, it\u2019s so weird.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodrigo is promoting her forthcoming third album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, out on 12 June. In a review<\/a> of Drop Dead, the album\u2019s lead single, the Guardian\u2019s Laura Snapes praised its \u201cmelody destined to stalk listeners\u2019 brains all summer\u201d.<\/p>\n

The singer pointed out that the babydoll dress has been an iconic outfit<\/a> for 90s female punk stars<\/a>. \u201cI didn\u2019t think I looked sexy in that at all,\u201d Rodrigo said. \u201cI was like, \u2018This is so cool. I feel like I look like Kathleen Hanna or Courtney Love,\u2019 all these people who are my heroes.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Rodrigo received backlash for her outfit choices, Love posted<\/a> Instagram stories in support of the singer.<\/p>\n

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. \u201cI was really excited to write about joy, love and passion in a way that I had never really done,\u201d the singer said<\/a> to Cosmopolitan recently. \u201cMost of my big songs are about being sad, angry, heartbroken.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year Rodrigo headlined<\/a> the UK\u2019s Glastonbury festival. In October she called out <\/a>the White House for using her music in anti-immigration videos, slamming it as \u201cracist, hateful propaganda\u201d.<\/p>\n

The video for Rodrigo\u2019s recent single The Cure saw her wearing a pink nurse\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n