Olivia Rodrigo is done letting the internet turn a floral babydoll dress into a full-blown moral crisis.
The Drop Dead singer addressed the viral backlash over the pink-and-white dress she wore during her Spotify Billions Club performance – and let’s just say she had thoughts.
“That’s been making me so upset,” Rodrigo admitted during an appearance on The New York Times podcast. “Not even for me. People can say whatever they want.”
What really bothered her, though, was the bizarre online reaction to an outfit that, in her eyes, was actually less revealing than many of her past stage looks.
“I have worn outfits that are maybe revealing on stage,” she explained, referencing one concert outfit featuring “a sparkly bra and little shorts.”
According to Rodrigo, those looks never sparked the same kind of outrage as the fully covered floral dress suddenly did.
“And that wasn’t inappropriate,” she said. “But me fully covered up in a dress that people deemed to be childlike was inappropriate.”
Rodrigo did not stop there, arguing the criticism “shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture.”
The Grammy winner also called out the exhausting message many girls grow up hearing: “Don’t wear that because then a man is going to sexualize your body and it’s your fault.”
“I didn’t think that I looked sexy in that at all,” she added. “I was like, this is so cool.”
Inspired by 90s icons like Kathleen Hanna and Courtney Love, Rodrigo said the dress made her feel confident – not controversial.
Meanwhile, the internet did what it does best: turn flowers and fabric into a three-day debate.
