Olivia Rodrigo on criticisms after wearing babydoll dress: 'We really normalize pedophilia in our culture'
Olivia Rodrigo is clearing the air following backlash over a babydoll dress she featured in a music video and on stage.
During an appearance on the New York Times Popcast, the singer defended her choice to wear the outfit—which appeared in her Drop Dead music video and at her recent Spotify Billions Club Live concert—after critics claimed it infantilized and sexualized her.
"What’s really disturbing is I feel like I have worn outfits that are revealing on stage. Like I’ve been on stage in like a sparkly bra, 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, like, fully covered up in a dress that people deem to be childlike was inappropriate. And I just think it just like shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture," she said, talking about her outfit which she paired with pink bloomers and knee-high leather boots.
Rodrigo went on to lament the rhetoric that women are told since they were little to not wear certain clothes "because then a man is going to sexualize your body and it’s your fault."
"It’s so weird. And I didn’t think I looked sexy in that at all—I was like ‘This is so cool. I feel like I look like Kathleen Hanna or Courtney Love.’ All these people who are my heroes," she said.
In the comments section, many fans came to Rodrigo’s defense and agreed with her sentiments, while others felt that her remarks were missing the point of why some people were uncomfortable with the outfit in the first place.
"It's 2026, stop being outraged over a dress a woman choose to wear. We have much much more pressing things to care about. This kind of dress has been around since the 60s. Also very popular in Asia. Women wear it because it’s cute not because they want to look like a child. Get over it," one user wrote.
Another commented, "How is she saying that we are the ones normalizing pedophilia? She is the one wearing childlike dresses that could affect the minds of perverted people. That’s how wicked some men are, and unfortunately, it is a reality. So our discomfort is really not about controlling women or policing fashion. We need to be cautious about how childhood-associated styles are presented in a culture where predators already exist."
For her Drop Dead music video, Rodrigo wore a frilly babydoll dress and white stockings while filming her scenes at the Palace of Versailles in France.
