Olivia Rodrigo is speaking out after online discourse surrounding an outfit she wore during a recent performance sparked a wider conversation online. The Grammy-winning singer faced backlash after appearing on stage in a pink floral babydoll dress while performing her unreleased track “Drop Dead” at Spotify’s Billions Club Live concert series in Barcelona, Spain.
Rodrigo is making it clear that the reaction to the outfit left her disturbed, not because of the criticism itself, but because of what she believes it says about the way young women are viewed.
What led to Olivia Rodrigo’s outfit backlash?
Rodrigo performed earlier this month during Spotify’s Billions Club Live event at Teatre Grec in Barcelona. For the show, she wore a small pink floral dress with puffed sleeves while debuting her song “Drop Dead.”
Soon after clips from the concert spread online, criticism about the outfit began appearing across social media. Some people argued the dress resembled children’s clothing, which led to discussions Rodrigo later described as upsetting.
During a clip released from The New York Times podcast Popcast ahead of the full episode, Rodrigo addressed the controversy directly.
“That’s been making me so upset,” Rodrigo said. “Not even for me. People can say whatever they want.” "What’s really disturbing is I feel like I actually have worn outfits that are maybe revealing on stage."
She explained that what disturbed her most was the reaction to a fully covered outfit compared to other stage looks she has worn before, as quoted in a report by NBC News and Deadline.
What did Olivia Rodrigo say about the criticism she received?
Olivia Rodrigo pointed out that she has previously performed in much more revealing outfits without attracting the same response.
“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 that wasn’t inappropriate,” she said.
“But me fully covered up in a dress that people deemed to be childlike, was inappropriate.”
The singer said the reaction reflects a larger cultural issue about how women and girls are viewed.
“Being fully covered up in a dress that people deemed ‘childlike’ was considered inappropriate,” Rodrigo said. “It just shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture and also it’s just this rhetoric that we’re fed as girls since we’re so little, which is like, ‘Don’t wear that, because then a man is going to sexualize your body, and it’s your fault.’ It’s so weird," as quoted in a report by NBC News and Deadline.
Rodrigo also emphasized that women should be able to “dress however” they want without being blamed for someone else’s interpretation. “You shouldn’t be responsible for some guy sexualizing you in a way that was never your intention.”
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