Olivia Rodrigo says she didn't feel 'attractive' growing up because she doesn't have 'European features'
- Olivia Rodrigo recently opened up about her insecurities in an interview with The Guardian.
- The "Drivers License" singer, who is Filipino American, said she felt unattractive growing up.
- "It feels like if you don't have European features and blonde hair and blue eyes, you're not traditionally pretty."
Olivia Rodrigo says she's "still shaking off" insecurities about her appearance - particularly as a Filipino American in the entertainment industry.
The 18-year-old "Deja Vu" singer, who launched her career on Disney Channel's "Bizaardvark" in 2016, opened up about comparing herself to others in a recent interview with The Guardian.
"It's hard for anyone to grow up in this media where it feels like if you don't have European features and blonde hair and blue eyes, you're not traditionally pretty," she said. "I felt that a lot - since I don't look exactly like the girl next door in all these movies, I'm not attractive."
"That actually took me a while to shake off," she added. "It's something I'm still shaking off now."
Rodrigo shot to stardom earlier this year with the success of her debut single, the heart-wrenching breakup ballad "Drivers License," in which she compares herself to her ex's new blonde girlfriend: "She's everything I'm insecure about."
Rodrigo will release her debut album "Sour" on May 21.
The Guardian's Laura Snapes, who has heard seven of the album's 11 songs, described Rodrigo's lyricism as "rife with deep insecurity: Rodrigo brutally comparing herself with the new girlfriend, defeated by a boy's impossible standards, scrolling social media and feeling sick with envy."
"I think there's a lot of strength in saying: I don't know anything and I feel so insecure and unwanted," Rodrigo said.
She also said she's been spending less time online since releasing "Drivers License" as a way to cope with comparison and criticism.
"You can create your own reality sometimes with social media," Rodrigo said. "What you see just becomes your reality, and it's totally not at all."