Olivia Rodrigo is one of the latest Disney stars to successfully make the leap from children’s television to bona fide pop phenomenon. Following in the footsteps of icons like Britney Spears, Hilary Duff, Miley Cyrus and Dove Cameron, Rodrigo went from starring in Bizaardvark and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series to selling out arenas around the world, all before most people finish university.
In January 2021, just weeks before turning 18, Rodrigo released her debut single, "Drivers License," which shattered streaming records and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Later that year came her debut album SOUR, which earned widespread critical acclaim and won her three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist.
Now, in 2026, Rodrigo is preparing to release her third album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, while tickets for her global tour have become near-mythical online. To celebrate surpassing nine billion streams and debut her latest single, Rodrigo performed at Spotify’s Billions Club Live event in Barcelona.
But instead of focusing on the flawless vocals, devastatingly relatable lyrics or the joy radiating across the 21-year-old’s face, much of the internet became fixated on something else entirely: her dress. More specifically, her tiny, hand-embellished babydoll dress. Let's discuss.
Why are people mad at Olivia Rodrigo?
For Olivia Rodrigo’s latest album era, she appears to be leaning heavily into a schoolgirl-inspired aesthetic. The album artwork, for example, features Rodrigo hanging upside down on a swing while wearing a babydoll-style look reminiscent of a school uniform.
At her Barcelona performance, Rodrigo wore a custom Génération78 look from the “Crush Loves Drama” collection: a puff-sleeve babydoll blouse styled as a micro dress, embellished with delicate florals. She paired the ultra-feminine piece with her signature Dr Martens boots and knee-high socks. This blend of punk and princess styling has been part of Rodrigo’s visual identity since her SOUR era.
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So why are people particularly mad now? Well, fans argue there is a fine line between "playful" and "infantilising," and they believe Rodrigo has crossed it. We are living in a post-Epstein world, despite many offenders not facing consequences for their roles, and the fetishisation of youth is under a microscope.
"Why TF is she dressing like a toddler and touching herself in a sexual manner? Who the hell stans this kind of abhorrent behaviour?" One user commented.
"Cosplaying as a kid is weird af," another wrote.
At one point during the performance, Rodrigo briefly lifted the dress to reveal bloomers underneath. A commitment to a Victorian aesthetic? Or a truly infantile choice of undergarments not appropriately matched to the sexual nature of her song and dance moves? The debate only intensified as clips circulated online showing Rodrigo crawling across the stage.
Sex and innocence sells
Previously, it was often said that women — especially celebrities — had to fit into the “Madonna or whore” dichotomy. Not Madonna the pop icon, but the biblical archetype: women were expected to be either entirely pure or entirely sexual, with very little space in between. It shaped the way we consumed female celebrities and fictional characters alike for decades.
But arguably, the modern version of that binary is even more complicated. Now, women are expected to be sexual — empowered, confident, desirable — or risk being dismissed as prudish or boring. Yet at the same time, pop culture increasingly rewards youthfulness, innocence and girlishness. The ideal becomes a contradictory mix: sensual but naive, provocative but childlike. She’s sexy, but she still has to seem untouched by her own sexuality.
Rodrigo is far from the first celebrity to navigate this tension. More recently, similar criticism has been aimed at fellow pop star Sabrina Carpenter. Carpenter faced widespread backlash over the cover artwork for her album Man’s Best Friend, which featured her kneeling while an unseen man gripped her hair. But what received less scrutiny was a September 2024 W Magazine shoot that many viewers felt visually echoed Lolita, including imagery of Carpenter lying on a lawn in a sheer dress beneath sprinklers, basically lifted from the film adaptation of Lolita.
Carpenter denied the inspiration, stating, “I’ve never seen this movie. It’s never been on my mood board and never would be.”
At the same time, Carpenter’s overt sexuality has become a regular flashpoint online. One viral post jokingly read: “I’m 17 and afraid of Sabrina Carpenter,” referencing her suggestive choreography, flirtatious lyrics and bedroom-inspired staging.
More recently, Carpenter’s wardrobe has shifted into more overtly adult territory — leather corsets, crystal bras and old-school lingerie glamour more reminiscent of early-2000s Christina Aguilera or even Madonna herself — but the debate around where audiences draw the line has remained.
Another recent example occurred in season 3 of Euphoria. Yep, the topic on everyone's lips. In episode two, Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) is building her OnlyFans empire, and does a shoot in a diaper, holding her legs open, wearing a sheer pink top and pigtails, sucking a pacifier. She claimed she had gotten many requests for it, and you know what? I believe her. I also believe some viewers enjoyed that scene a little too much, even if their first instinct was horror. It is worth noting that age-play content is not permitted on OnlyFans.
The rise in baby
Fans of Olivia Rodrigo, however, argue that the discomfort is entirely the point. They believe Rodrigo is intentionally highlighting the way young women in the entertainment industry are simultaneously sexualised and infantilised.
“‘Who am I if not exploited’… her outfit is supposed to make you uncomfortable,” one fan wrote online. “It’s a visual representation of what the industry does to young girls. How are y’all not getting it???”
Others have also pushed back strongly against descriptions of Rodrigo’s look as “pedo-bait,” arguing that such criticism places responsibility on the woman — or girl — wearing the outfit, rather than on the predatory gaze itself.
And perhaps there is truth to that interpretation. Rodrigo has often appeared remarkably self-aware for someone so young. After all, her 17-year-old musings on Driver's License got me through a devastating breakup at 26.
Still, whether intentional or not, the wider trend cannot be ignored. If youthful styling is increasingly being used to generate conversation, virality or desirability, that strategy is rarely created in isolation. Behind every major pop persona is a team of adults shaping a brand, and Rodrigo is far from the only artist leaning into this aesthetic.
In fact, we are seeing a broader cultural return to hyper-girlish fashion. Rodrigo’s babydoll dresses may partly reference the riot grrrl movement and icons like Courtney Love, but the trend extends well beyond her wardrobe and merchandise store. Baby tees decorated with kittens and rhinestones, ballet flats, Mary Janes, ribbons, headbands and butterfly clips have all returned to mainstream fashion, nostalgic pieces once associated with childhood now being repackaged through a more overtly sexualised lens. Yes, it's a return to the '90s, but this was teenage fashion, not adult.
It’s not just what we put on our bodies. Since moving to London, I’ve been struck by the frequent use of “baby voices” around me, most commonly by women in heterosexual relationships. It’s often directed at male partners without hesitation, through a nasal, sing-song tone that, unfortunately, grates on me more than I’d like to admit.
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This behaviour is also reflected in the rise of so-called “princess treatment” expectations, some of which go beyond the usual gestures like paying for meals or opening doors, extending instead into a more performative dynamic of care, deference, and role-play within relationships. Some believe their partner should speak for them, choose their outfits, care for them, rendering themselves as the literal baby doll.
As it currently stands, women are expected to infantilise themselves at every opportunity, yet bear the burden of social criticism when they go too far. Rodrigo's outfit is a terrifying symptom of a greater issue, which is that while women may be obsessed with the loss of youth, it pales in comparison to men's focus on our ageing.
