Olivia Rodrigo is Furious at Being Criticized for Wearing a Babydoll Dress

JAKARTA - Olivia Rodrigo finally spoke up about the controversy on social media regarding her choice to wear a babydoll dress in her last few appearances.

The 23-year-old singer-songwriter assessed that the logic behind the criticism reflected an alarming reality about how society views women's bodies from a young age.

As is known, netizen criticism surfaced after Rodrigo wore a babydoll-style dress in the "drop dead" music video, as well as when performing at Spotify's Billions Club Live concert. A number of netizens judged the style of the dress to give a childish impression and sexualize her.

Responding to the wave of skewed comments, Rodrigo admitted that he was very disturbed, not because his privacy was disturbed, but because of the mindset that underlies it.

"It makes me very upset. Not for myself, because people are free to say whatever. What really bothers me is that I have worn clothes that may have been open on stage. I have performed wearing a sparkly bra and shorts, which is my right, it's fun, and I feel cool and comfortable," Rodrigo said in a recent interview here. Popcast of the New York Times.

"It is not considered inappropriate, but when I appear tightly closed with a dress that people think of as children, it is considered inappropriate," he continued.

Furthermore, Rodrigo emphasized that the public's negative reaction actually revealed the veil of a larger social problem. According to him, the way of looking at blaming women's fashion choices is a form of brainwashing that has taken root from an early age.

"The reactionary response shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture. In addition, this is the rhetoric that we are given as girls from childhood, namely do not wear it because a man will sexualize your body and it is your fault. This is very strange," he said.

Rodrigo clarified that he had no intention of appearing sexy in the dress. For him, the choice of fashion was purely a form of homage to the rock music icons of the 1900s who were his heroes, such as Kathleen Hanna and Courtney Love.

"I don't think at all that I look sexy in that outfit. I feel it's really cool. I feel like I look like Kathleen Hanna or Courtney Love, people who are my heroes, and I feel cool and comfortable in it," said Rodrigo.

"I just think if we start dressing in a way like, 'I don't want some asshole to think I'm sexy as a baby' or some crazy shit like that, I think we've lost our way. I'm very protective of young women as well as little girls, and I never want them to be fed that kind of rhetoric," he concluded.