Olivia Rodrigo is reflecting on the backlash following the overwhelming success of her debut single, “Drivers License.”
“I don’t really subscribe to hating other women because of boys” in response to a narrative that pitted her against Sabrina Carpenter following its release.
After the song was released in January, many believed the 18-year-old had written the song about her High School Musical: The Musical: The Series costar, Joshua Bassett.
Allegedly, Olivia and Joshua had dated for a bit before they broke up and he was photographed out and about with fellow Disney Channel alum Sabrina Carpenter.
Fans wholeheartedly believed the specific lyrics — “You’re probably with that blond girl / Who always made me doubt / She’s so much older than me / She’s everything I’m insecure about” — were about Sabrina, and the theory continued to take off after it was discovered the lyrics had originally referenced a brunette.
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Rodrigo would later reveal why she had changed the lyric in an interview with Nylon, admitting it was due to her belief that “the most impactful songs are specific.”
“Lots of the time, people will fill in the blanks with details from their own life,” Olivia said at the time. “If they don’t want to, they can fill it in with details of my life and if that’s what makes it impactful to them, that’s fine.”
And while both women have dismissed getting into the drama when interviewed, most people accepted the narrative it was Olivia versus Sabrina.
But according to an interview with Variety published on Wednesday, the whole public drama was something Olivia herself never expected to happen.
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“I put it out not knowing that it would get that reaction,” said Rodrigo. “So it was really strange [when] it did.”
“I just remember [everyone being] so weird and speculative about stuff they had no idea about,” Rodrigo recalled.
“I don’t really subscribe to hating other women because of boys,” she added. “I think that’s so stupid, and I really resent that narrative that was being tossed around.”
“It was really hard for me to watch people on TikTok and stuff that dissects my 17-year-old love life,” Olivia continued. “That was really weird. But again, I think I understood the curiosity.”
“When people who don’t know me are criticizing me, they’re criticizing my persona, not my person,” Olivia said.
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