Olivia Rodrigo forced to address controversy around her babydoll dress

Olivia Rodrigo has issued a vital message about the sexualisation of female fashion.

The 23-year-old's remarks come after she donned a floral babydoll dress in the promotional video to her third LP, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So In Love, which some online critics slammed as promoting 'paedo core'.

She wore the same dress for the album's artwork and, weeks earlier, wore a similar-style gown during an appearance at Spotify's Billions Club Live in Barcelona, sparking equal backlash both times.

In response to the criticism, Rodrigo pointed out that such controversy stems from society’s habit of sexualising the clothing choices of young women in the spotlight.

The star shared a fiery message on society's stance on women's clothing (Xavi Torrent/Getty Images for Spotify)

Speaking on the New York Times' Popcast on Wednesday (27 May), the 'Vampire' singer hit out: "You shouldn’t be responsible for some guy sexualising you in a way that was never your intention."

She continued: "What’s really disturbing is I feel like I have worn outfits that are revealing on stage.

"I’ve been on stage in a sparkly bra, little shorts, which is my right. That’s fun. I felt cool and comfortable in that."

Rodrigo went on: "And that wasn’t 'inappropriate', but me, fully covered up in a dress that people deem to be childlike, was 'inappropriate'. And it just shows how we really normalise pedophilia in our culture."

The singer-songwriter also brought listeners' attention to the bigger picture, pointing out the correlation between dialogues on women's clothing and sexual violence against them.

Rodrigo said women shouldn't be blamed for men over-sexualising their clothing (Cindy Ord/VF26/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

"It’s just this rhetoric that we’re fed as girls since we’re so little, which is, 'Don’t wear that because then a man is going to sexualise your body and it’s your fault'. I didn’t think I looked sexy in that at all. I was like, 'This is so cool. I feel like I look like Kathleen Hanna or Courtney Love'.

"All these people who are my heroes, and I felt cool and comfortable in it."

The 'Driving Licence' hit-maker concluded: " I just think if we start dressing in a way that’s like, 'Oh, I don’t want some fucking freak to think that I am sexy like a baby,' or some crazy thing like that. I just think it’s like losing the plot a little bit.

"I’m just very protective of like younger women and girls, and I just don’t ever want them to be fed that rhetoric."