Is Olivia Rodrigo's New Song 'Lacy' Queer?
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Olivia Rodrigo is setting the sapphic sectors of social media ablaze with the release of her sophomore album, GUTS—and, more specifically, a song titled “Lacy.”
Queer readings of song lyrics are extremely common, especially among those painfully aware of how little time it’s been since celebrities staying in the closet was the expectation, rather than merely an option. But more often than not, those queer readings are about subtle nods and themes that the hetero-listener could easily interpret differently without the same personal context.
“Lacy” is, uh, not that.
The entire song is about the “sweetest torture” of seeing this girl who is “the sweetest thing on this side of Hell” and “made of angel dust” everywhere, and how much Rodrigo loathes the way it makes her feel.
“Lacy, oh Lacy, I just loathe you lately,” she sings. “And I despise my jealous eyes and how hard they fell for you / Yeah, I despise my rotten mind and how much it worships you.”
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If you swapped out “Lacy” for “Larry,” there would be no debate over whether the titular character was the agonizing object of the singer’s affections. But since it’s a woman’s name (and the comparison to actress Brigitte Bardot makes that clear enough), there’s no such consensus.
The prevailing heteroexplanation is that Rodrigo is jealous of Lacy (who leaves her stomach in knots, probably in a very platonic way), though it’s also been suggested she’s suddenly singing from a male perspective.
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Mostly, though, the debate between whether it’s okay to read things as queer if an artist hasn’t explicitly laid out their sexuality in an Instagram post or a billboard in Times Square rages on.
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The one thing everyone seems able to agree on is that Rodrigo doesn't owe anyone an explanation of her sexuality—nor does any celebrity. But any artist who shares their work with the world understands that it's up for interpretation, and suggesting that interpreting that work as queer is somehow rude or inappropriate, when interpreting it as straight would not be, has pretty damaging implications. Some people don't want to spell everything out, but that doesn't mean they aren't deadass making it obvious all the same.
