The Reactions to Olivia Rodrigo’s Babydoll Dresses Are Not It: ‘That’s Been Making Me So Upset’

Olivia Rodrigo caught heat online after the release of her single, Drop Dead. The criticism has nothing to do with the lyrics but with what she wore for the music video. Although Olivia has pushed back against online sentiments, the issue was never with the dress—rather, it’s how people reacted to it.

Since her single release, social media has been divided. Fans had nothing but praise for the dreamlike concept of the music video and piece. The shoot of Drop Dead took place in the Palace of Versailles in France, with Olivia dancing around with headphones on and a hyperfeminine silk babydoll dress. She was singing about someone she met and her delusions of that person—naturally, the video looked surreal, like a young woman’s fever dream.

There’s no better way to express the fantasy of having a crush and feeling high on the idea than to run around in one of the most ornate palaces in the world in a cutesy dress. Nevertheless, half of social media was furious at Olivia for wearing a babydoll dress. They accused her of infantalizing herself and catering to the male gaze.

Olivia Rodrigo was dressing for herself

When interviewed by the New York Times about the controversy, Olivia expressed her frustration over the reactions. She said, “That’s been making me so upset.”

She further explained, “I’ve been on stage in a sparkly bra and little shorts, which is my right. I felt cool and comfortable in that. And, like, that wasn’t inappropriate, but me, fully covered up in a dress that people deem to be like ‘childlike,’ was inappropriate?”

During Coachella, Olivia Rodrigo performed Drop Dead in a sparkly bra. There wasn’t any controversy around that—and there shouldn’t be. But when she chose to wear a romantic babydoll dress for the music video and her performance, the internet ripped her apart. They acted as if she’d pulled a Euphoria, Sydney Sweeney, on stage.

While her music is thought-provoking, Olivia’s demographic is largely comprised of girls and young adults. If there’s anyone to cater to, it’s her young audience, who most likely dresses the same way. It goes without saying that clothes aren’t inherently sexual, and neither are women’s bodies. But why then is a woman acting whimsical in a silk dress being cancelled for “sexualizing” herself?

Can’t women be whimsical without being sexualized?

“We really normalize pedophilia in our culture,” Olivia added in the interview. “It’s 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.'”

Olivia said that she didn’t think she was sexy when she was wearing the frilly dresses. She just thought it was cool that she could reference the styles of Riot Grrrl’s Kathleen Hanna and Hole’s Courtney Love. Although the rock artists definitely had different intentions for wearing what they did, those don’t matter in Olivia’s context.

The real problem is that social media immediately assumed that Olivia Rodrigo was dressing for the male gaze. She was trying to invoke her idols for aesthetic inspiration while expressing her artistry. Jumping to the conclusion that she must be baiting pedophiles is neither normal nor reasonable. Coupled with her singing about young adulthood and love, the conclusion becomes even more outlandish. Couldn’t it be that she’s just a girl, and she wanted to have fun in her music videos and performances?

While her pushback against the disgusting criticisms was definitely needed, the fact that she had to defend herself at all is disappointing. It’s absurd, because some male artists are known abusers and yet continue to have a career in music. And yet, Olivia Rodrigo is getting canceled over clothes.

(featured images: Bogdan Siudy, Spotify)

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]