Olivia Rodrigo is pushing back against the criticism surrounding the babydoll dresses she has been wearing during the rollout for her latest music era — and she’s making it clear that the conversation says more about culture than it does about fashion.
The 23-year-old superstar recently appeared in a babydoll dress in her “Drop Dead” music video before wearing another version of the look during a Spotify concert in Spain. While the aesthetic quickly became part of the visual identity tied to her new project, it also sparked backlash online, with some critics accusing the outfits of being inappropriate or intentionally provocative.
Now, Olivia is directly addressing those reactions.
“That’s been making me so upset,” Olivia told Popcast. “Not even for me. People can say whatever they want. What’s really disturbing is I have worn outfits that are maybe revealing on stage. I’ve been on stage in a sparkly bra and little shorts, which is my right, that’s fun, I felt cool and comfortable in that. And like that wasn’t inappropriate, but me fully covered up in a dress that people deemed to be childlike was inappropriate.”
The Grammy-winning artist explained that the criticism reflects a much larger issue about how young women are viewed and spoken about in popular culture. Throughout her career, Olivia has often mixed punk-inspired fashion with vintage feminine silhouettes, drawing inspiration from artists she has long admired. But in this case, she believes the reaction crossed into something more troubling.
She added that “it shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture. Also it’s just this rhetoric 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. It’s so weird.”
Olivia’s comments quickly ignited conversation online, with many fans praising her for calling out the double standards women face when it comes to fashion and self-expression. Others noted how the discourse around the dresses seemed to contradict years of conversations encouraging women to dress for themselves rather than for public approval.
For Olivia, the outfits were never intended to be provocative in the first place. Instead, she said they were tied to the alternative rock influences and female artists she grew up idolizing.
“I didn’t think that I looked sexy in that at all,” Olivia added. “I was like, this is so cool. I feel I look like Kathleen Hanna or Courtney Love, all these people who are my heroes, and I felt cool and comfortable in it. I just think if we start dressing in a way that’s like, ‘I don’t want some f–king freak to think that I’m sexy like a baby’ or some crazy thing like that, I think it’s losing the plot a little bit. I’m just very protective of younger women, girls, and I don’t ever want them to be fed that rhetoric.”
The singer’s response arrives during a time when conversations surrounding celebrity fashion, internet commentary, and misogyny continue to dominate online spaces. Olivia has often used her platform to discuss the pressures young women face in the spotlight, particularly when their appearance becomes the focus of public debate.
At the same time, the “Drop Dead” era has continued to generate massive attention, with fans embracing both the darker sonic direction and the visual aesthetic attached to the project. Her style choices — equal parts grunge, riot girl, and vintage-inspired femininity — have become a major talking point across social media and fashion circles alike.
