Olivia Rodrigo's babydoll dress is for the punks, not the freaks who 'normalize pedophilia'

Olivia Rodrigo wore frilly babydoll outfits in a Versailles-set music video and a Barcelona live performance, prompting online criticism that the look sexualized childlike imagery. In a podcast interview, Rodrigo called the backlash weird and disturbing, arguing that outrage over a fully covered dress reveals how culture normalizes pedophilia and shifts blame onto girls for male desire. She contrasted the criticism with her past stage outfits that were more revealing, saying those were treated as acceptable. Rodrigo framed babydoll style as rooted in subversive feminist and punk fashion, emphasizing power rather than infantilization, while preparing for her third album release.

"“I have worn outfits that are maybe revealing on stage, like I've been on stage in a sparkly bra and little shorts - which is my right - that's fun,” she said. “I felt cool and comfortable in that, and that wasn't inappropriate, but me fully covered up in a dress that people deemed to be, like, childlike was inappropriate, and I think it shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture.”"

"Rodrigo further defended the babydoll look by drawing on feminist punk icons Kathleen Hanna and Courtney Love, insisting the style is about power, not infantilization, as she readies her third album, out June 12."

"The dress debacle kicked up in early May when Rodrigo released the music video for “Drop Dead,” in which she runs through the Palace of Versailles wearing a pink-and-blue ruffled babydoll set while singing about the intensity of a crush. Then on May 8, she wore a cottage-core pink-and-white floral babydoll dress with knee-high Dr. Martens during a live performance in Barcelona."

"In a candid podcast interview, Rodrigo calls the backlash “weird” and “disturbing,” arguing that outrage over a fully covered dress exposes how culture normalizes pedophilia and blames girls for male desire."

Read at Los Angeles Times