Celebrity3 min(s) read
Fans baffled after Olivia Rodrigo's act with her armpit sweat on stage
Fans of Olivia Rodrigo are baffled after the pop star appeared to use her armpit sweat to style her hair while on stage.
Rodrigo released her acclaimed third studio album, You seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, earlier this year and is currently taking her show on the road with the Unraveled Tour, which has just kicked off its first leg across the US and Canada.
We all know that touring can be intense for a lot of artists - and by one new viral clip posted by fans online, it seems that Rodrigo is open to all kinds of improvisation while performing on stage.
Although her new trick to style her hair mid-performance may prove to be off-putting to some fans...
Fans react to Olivia Rodrigo styling hair with armpit sweat on stage
During Rodrigo's recent performance in Washington, D.C., the second night that her Unraveled Tour had stopped at the US capital, a fan was recording her performance of her recent release, Serena Joy, in the pit.
An angsty electro-rock ballad, Serena Joy takes its name from a character in The Handmaid's Tale, a character who is complicit in the dystopian patriarchal society in the novel and TV adaptation (where she's played by Yvonne Strahovski).
As she's performing the song, Rodrigo, who is wearing a white vest, and can be seen palming her hands through her armpits, and then using her sweat to style her hair.
The move proved to be controversial amongst users online, many of whom found the act off-putting.
"This is humiliating," one comment reads. "Why did she do this on stage?"
Another negative reaction reads: "I'm sorry Liv [but] I'm not with you on this one."
However, one fan pointed out that this could well have been intentional on Rodrigo's part, as it speaks to the song's themes of finding the strength to fight against oppressive expectations of women in a modern-day society.
"Notice how she's using natural oils instead of giving into capitalism," they said. "Fierce asf."
The real-life break-up that inspired Olivia Rodrigo's acclaimed new album
With the release of her third studio album, You seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, earlier this year, Rodrigo is proving that she is one of the brightest rising pop superstars of her generation.
The record, one of the most critically acclaimed pop releases of the year, was heavily inspired by Rodrigo's real-life breakup with actor Louis Partridge. The couple had been together for two years before breaking up in late 2025.
Rodrigo hinted in interviews prior to the album's release that following the break-up, she went back into the studio to rewrite portions of the record to reflect her heartbreak in real-time.
This resulted in the inclusion of some of the best-received tracks on the record, from the goth-pop ballad The Cure to new wave banger Expectations.
Rodrigo's Unraveled Tour is currently set to run for 86 shows, ending in May 2027 with two back-to-back shows at London's O2 arena.