'We normalize pedophilia': Olivia Rodrigo slams backlash over babydoll dress
What's the story
Pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo has spoken out against the online backlash over a "babydoll" dress she wore during her Spotify Billions Club performance. In a recent interview on The New York Times Podcast, she said, "What's really disturbing is" that the ordeal "shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture." The dress in question was a pink-and-white floral babydoll one-piece that some perceived as "childlike."
Outfit defense
'That's been making me so upset'
Rodrigo, 23, defended her choice of outfits during the podcast. "That's been making me so upset," she said about the criticism. "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," describing one of her tour outfits as a "sparkly bra and little shorts," asserting that it is her "right" to dress as she chooses.
Double standards
Double standards in outfit perceptions
Rodrigo expressed confusion over the double standards in how her outfits are perceived. "That's fun, I felt cool and comfortable in that," she said about her sparkly bra and shorts outfit. "And that wasn't inappropriate, but me fully covered up in a dress that people deemed to be childlike was inappropriate." She further added, "It's so weird."
Style inspiration
Rodrigo on her style inspirations
Rodrigo cited 1990s rock stars Kathleen Hanna and Courtney Love as her style inspirations, who also wore similar dresses. "All these people who are my heroes, and I felt cool and comfortable in it," she said. Rodrigo expressed frustration over the rhetoric of "Don't wear that because then a man is going to sexualize your body." "I'm just very protective of younger women, girls, and I don't ever want them to be fed that rhetoric."
Upcoming album
Meanwhile, know more about her upcoming album
Rodrigo's full appearance on the podcast will be released on Thursday, May 28, ahead of her much-anticipated third album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love. The album is set to release on June 12 and has a pastel-pink theme. The lead singles Drop Dead and The Cure are from the first and second halves of the tracklist, respectively.