Olivia Rodrigo has drawn fierce online backlash after a viral clip showed her running her hands through her hair after wiping them under her armpits mid-performance.
The 21-year-old singer was performing “Serena Joy” at the Capitol Arena in Washington D.C. On October 4 when the moment was captured, according to the date visible in footage that has since spread across social media. Rodrigo is currently mid-way through The Unraveled Tour, a run of roughly 86 shows across North America and Europe that kicked off September 25.
The clip, originally posted to TikTok though no longer appearing on the account named in the video, shows Rodrigo at the microphone during the song. She lifts her arms, runs her hands beneath her armpits, then appears to work the gathered moisture through her hair with the same motion someone might use applying shampoo or conditioner.
“i’ve never seen someone use armpit sweat to style their hair-,” one person wrote while reposting the footage, capturing the disbelief that has fueled much of the reaction.
The gesture has divided her audience, with critics landing hard on hygiene concerns. “She is clearly trying to be cool and edgy but this is just nasty and unhygienic,” one commenter wrote, “and in front of people too like.. Ew girl.” Another posted: “She wants to give edgy pop punk rockstar so bad but this is just genuinely disgusting and unsanitary.” A third offered more measured disapproval: “love her but this was disgusting.”
Defenders pushed back with reference to rock tradition. “Everone hating but this is kinda the coolest thing she’s ever done Sorry,” one fan wrote. Another commenter took a sarcastic route: “Ah yes punk rockstars who are famously know for being extremely clean and sanitary.”
The sweat-styling incident arrives as Rodrigo continues navigating scrutiny of her onstage choices. She recently faced criticism for a white floral “babydoll” dress she wore performing “Drop Dead” at Barcelona’s Teatre Grec on May 8, with some online commenters calling the garment “childlike.”
Rodrigo addressed that backlash during the outlet Popcast interview, telling the podcast she had been left “so upset.” She pushed back against what she described as sexist double standards in how her wardrobe is judged.
“What’s really disturbing is I feel like I have worn outfits that are revealing on stage. Like, I’ve been on stage in like a sparkly bra, little shorts, which is my right,” she said. “That’s fun. I felt cool and comfortable in that. And that wasn’t ‘inappropriate’ – but me fully covered up in a dress that people deem to be childlike was inappropriate.”
She continued: “I think shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture. And also it’s just 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.'”
The “Vampire” singer has not publicly responded to the armpit sweat controversy as of this writing. Her tour continues through Europe with remaining dates scheduled into 2025.