Do we like Olivia Rodrigo?
Our score: 8 out of 10. Years of putting her fame and money behind women's health, and she took on the White House over ICE, with one unresolved vendor dispute on the other side.
Olivia Rodrigo grew up in Temecula, California, singing from age five and writing songs young. Her family often drove 90 miles to LA for auditions. She did the Disney Channel run (Bizaardvark, then High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) before drivers license hit No. 1 when she was 17.
Three Grammys followed in 2022, including Best New Artist, then GUTS in 2023 and a third album this June. Nearly all the real drama lately is political rather than tabloid. In June she told Dazed and others she was enraged that the Department of Homeland Security and White House had used All-american b---- in a video promoting self-deportation.
She called immigration enforcement “barbaric” and said she was “really sad to be in a country that thinks that's OK.” A DHS spokesperson fired back that she should thank officers for their service. Whether you cheer or wince, she copped the heat for it by choice.
On the harm test, there's nothing nasty here. She's put her name behind reproductive health. She started Fund 4 Good in 2024 for “all women, girls and people seeking reproductive health freedom”, and in August she danced in a video criticising Trump's Planned Parenthood defunding law. Honest gap: I found no strong LGBTQ+-specific statements from her either way, and nothing about dodgy company.
The mark against her is recent. In October, two women-owned small businesses who worked the festival alleged they were still waiting on payment, and one owner's open letter alleged vendors were stuck at booths until 1am. The reporting says nothing establishes that Rodrigo handled vendor payments herself, and no one had responded or confirmed a resolution when it ran. Fair to call it unresolved, not a verdict.
The good stuff is real. Daisy Chain Fields raised $10 million for ten nonprofits supporting women and girls, including Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights, with artists waiving their fees. She also took Planned Parenthood's 2025 Catalyst of Change Award.