‘Upset’ Olivia Rodrigo Slams Babydoll Dress Criticism: 'Really Disturbing'

Olivia Rodrigo spoke out about the backlash she received after wearing a babydoll dress in a new interview.

The "Good 4 U" singer, 23, wore the controversial kids-looking clothes when she performed during Spotify's Billions Club Live at Barcelona's Teatre Grec on Friday, May 8.

The pastel dress was adorned with flowers and grazed the top of her thigh. She was seen suggestively licking her lips while wearing a big grin.

"That's been making me so upset," the three-time Grammy winner said on The New York Times podcast "Popcast" released Wednesday, May 27. "Not even for me. People can say whatever they want."

The "Drivers License" singer feels sexualized.

"What's really disturbing is I've worn outfits that are maybe revealing onstage, like I've been onstage in a sparkly bra or little shorts, which is cool, that is my right, I felt cool and comfortable in that," she said. "That wasn't inappropriate, but, like, me fully covered up in a dress that people deemed to be childlike was inappropriate."

She insists she didn't mean to court controversy with her babydoll dress.

"It just shows how we really normalize p--------- in our culture," she said. "And also it's this rhetoric we're fed as girls since we were so little, which is 'don't wear that because then a man is going to sexualize your body, and it's your fault.'"

She confesses she wasn't even trying to be provocative.

"It's so weird," Olivia said. "I didn't think I looked s--- in that at all. I thought, 'this is so cool,' I felt like I looked like Kathleen Hanna or Courtney Love, all these people who are my heroes. I felt cool and comfortable in it."

But she isn't looking to appeal to perverts.

"I just think that if we start dressing in a way that 'oh I don't want some f------ freak to think that I am s--- like a baby, or some crazy thing like that, I just think it's losing the plot a little bit," Rodrigo said.

She would hate to put other women and girls in a bad place, noting, "I'm very protective of younger women, girls, and I just don't ever want them to be fed that rhetoric."

Rodrigo is fighting back against the stereotype.

"It's like a weird cult," she opined. "You shouldn't be responsible for some guy sexualizing you in a way that was never your intention."

Fans and haters were quick to react on Instagram.

One poster wrote, “I feel like Olivia Rodrigo is gaslighting people who are uncomfortable with this aesthetic by acting as if the criticism automatically means ‘women can’t wear what they want.’ That’s not what we are saying. Predators exist whether we like it or not, and many of them will sexualize things connected to childhood regardless. Is that women’s fault? Of course not. But at the same time, I think society should be careful about mixing very childlike aesthetics with adult women’s imagery in entertainment and media, because protecting children matters.”

They continued, “How is she saying that we are the ones normalizing p---------? 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.”

Another commented, “This was an incredible response to the silly online discord. 👏👏👏 She’s so eloquent and is 100% correct, people being upset with the baby doll dress are so weird.”

A third wrote, “Also, what does that say about men who find CHILDREN attractive?!!”