When your entire career is based on your ability to captivate the public, it is easy to go to extreme measures for that attention. In recent decades, teenage singers have unexpectedly catapulted into celebrities almost overnight. Previously in the 90’s, 00’s, and 10’s teenage stardom mainly surrounded personal dramas that the public was given access to combined with recognition from popular teenage television shows, like the dating activity of Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber. Fans were able to experience their relationship firsthand as they felt like active participants in their lives. Both Selena and Justin capitalized on that notion in their songs, launching both their professional careers and changing them from ‘just another teen talent’ into permanent powerhouses in the music industry. Now with the rise of social media, people can find evanescent fame from their talents but are forced to attempt to penetrate the line between A-list celebrity and a temporary influencer. It has become a growing issue for influencers because of their instant but fleeting connections with the public. Fans can see the celebrities’ entire lives, behind the scenes, and more; however, the problem stems from these young adults trying to maintain this fame long-term.

Oliva Rodrigo is one of the only teenage singers who, instead of just using social media, directly employs strategies from previous decades that helped shape past celebrities. Oliva grew up acting and got her breakout role at 16 in the highly popular Disney show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Her character was romantically involved with her co-star, Joshua Bassett’s character during much of the show; naturally, Oliva and Joshua started to seem close, so fans were quick to assume they were dating. Just as they followed them in the show, the audience learned to follow them in real life. Initially, when Joshua and Oliva seemingly broke up, the reaction from the public was minimal because the relationship was never formally announced; however, the circumstances shifted when Oliva released her debut album SOUR, which mainly consisted of ‘break-up songs’ directed towards their relationship. Oliva relays relatable feelings like betrayal, loss, feeling used, and emotional conflict. In her most popular song, Driver’s License, Oliva reminisced on the relationship between them and relayed how much she still misses Joshua despite them not being perfect. Due to their heavy involvement in the initial relationship, fans felt compelled to defend Olivia by attacking Joshua Bassett. The Oliva fans mainly used social media to scrutinize him in mass numbers by sending their opinions, hate, and even death threats. 

Another factor was brought to attention when another teenage television star, Sabrina Carpenter, entered the discussion. Sabrina Carpenter had been famous for a few years prior; however, her fame was shaky as she was transitioning her career from a teenage actress into an adult pop singer. Joshua began dating Sabrina post-breakup with Olivia, which Rodrigo expressed insecurities about in her song Driver’s License —“She’s so much older than me/She’s everything I’m insecure about.” Olivia’s fans were now increasingly captivated because they relate to the insecurity that Olivia is expressing. Naturally, Sabrina was attacked by the public resulting from her involvement in the situation. In response, Sabrina drops a song Skin which details her experience as collateral in a situation that had nothing to do with her. At the time, the song was labeled as ‘poorly written’, but years later, the single transformed into a beloved song by her fans. 

It’s evident that the career path of these three celebrities is entirely dependent on the public’s opinion of them. The jobs they get in acting, the appreciation of their music, and the public scrutiny they may receive are all examples of factors dependent on publicity. Therefore, the nature of Olivia’s songs remained detrimental to two people’s careers and personal lives. Joshua and Sabrina experienced extreme hate for months on end resulting directly from the SOUR album. It got so far that Joshua Bassett experienced extreme anxiety that led to and masked his septic shock. He had heart failure and was told that if he had not been hospitalized, he would have died within 12 hours. Oliva never spoke up about this situation publicly. 

Similarly, the love triangle affected Sabrina in terms of her identity. When interviewed, she talks about having writer’s block in her music because the public kept telling her who she was supposed to be. When Taylor Swift announced that Sabrina Carpenter would be joining her on the Latin leg of her Eras tour, Sabrina faced a multitude of backlash because fans felt Olivia Rodrigo deserved to go instead. People went as far as to say that Olivia Rodrigo was more Latina/Hispanic than Sabrina Carpenter. However, Olivia has no evidence of Hispanic descent (a common misconception because of her last name) being half White and half Asian, while Sabrina is half Hispanic. Just as in the Josh situation, Olivia refused to speak up on the subject; this silence may be because Olivia is very easily profiting off of the situation. This opens up the question that will probably exist forever: how far is too far for money?

Considering all factors, it makes sense as an observer to try to place the blame on one specific person, but truthfully nobody necessarily did anything wrong. Joshua Bassett was just a boy who fell in love. Sabrina simply happens to be a stunning girl who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Olivia above all, is just a girl who was hurt by somebody whom she once loved. Modern society also creates individuals who depend on wealth to survive. Therefore, when Olivia’s music began to introduce a world of publicity, money, and even Grammys, her team likely decided it would be productive for her to not clear up any rumors, allowing the focus to remain on her situation. The real issue lies in the blurred lines between a celebrity’s private life and fans’ business. The notion that fans should contribute their negative opinions to relationships that they have no involvement in is wrong. Although we can ask questions like “Is it ethical to be a bystander?” and “Whose fault was it?”, at the end of the day all celebrities are products of our society, therefore deserving of the same forgiveness.