Grammy-winning artist Olivia Rodrigo is speaking out against backlash over a babydoll dress she wore while debuting her single \u201cDrop Dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
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During a concert at Teatre Grec in Barcelona, Spain, earlier this month for Spotify\u2019s Billions Club Live series, the singer-songwriter performed in a small pink floral dress with puffed sleeves.<\/p>\n
In a New York Times podcast clip published Wednesday<\/a>, a day before the full episode\u2019s release, Rodrigo opened up about how the online criticism surrounding the outfit affected her.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s been making me so upset,\u201d Rodrigo said when asked about the backlash. \u201cNot even for me. People can say whatever they want.\u201d<\/p>\n Rodrigo described the response as disturbing, noting that she has worn far more revealing outfits without controversy. The babydoll dress, which she emphasized was not revealing, drew intense criticism precisely because it was considered \u201cchildlike,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing fully covered up in a dress that people deemed \u2018childlike\u2019 was considered inappropriate,\u201d Rodrigo said. \u201cIt just shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture and 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 It\u2019s so weird.\u201d<\/p>\n Rodrigo said she felt \u201ccool and comfortable\u201d in the dress and had no intention of looking \u201csexy,\u201d citing punk icon Kathleen Hanna and rock artist Courtney Love as style inspirations and noting that both have embraced similar aesthetics.<\/p>\n \u201cAll these people are my heroes, and I felt cool and comfortable in it,\u201d Rodrigo said. \u201cIf we start dressing in a way that\u2019s driven by fear of how someone else might interpret it, I think we\u2019re losing the plot. I\u2019m very protective of younger women and girls, and I don\u2019t ever want them to be fed that rhetoric.\u201d<\/p>\n The podcast episode explores Rodrigo\u2019s fashion choices and the broader conversation around online discourse.<\/p>\n Rodrigo first teased \u201cDrop Dead\u201d in April during Addison Rae\u2019s Coachella set, then performed it at an open mic night at Pete\u2019s Candy Store in New York City<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nine of her tracks have surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify. Her upcoming album, \u201cYou Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,\u201d is set for release on June 12.<\/p>\n