Olivia Rodrigo sparks debate for 'dystopian' virtual meet and greet

Olivia Rodrigo has divided social media after hosting a meet and greet in Target. Why? Because Rodrigo wasn't even there, and it was completely virtual. In a clip posted to X/Twitter, a 'Good 4 U' singer was sitting crossed-legged on a large digital screen as diehard fans asked questions. "A virtual meet and greet… this feels so dystopian," the original tweet read – and many more agreed. "They sounded like a sitcom laugh track when they cheered," one joked, while another person added: "This is so awkward like the pauses and the late reactions why would she do this LMAO." Meanwhile, many others believed it to be an innovative concept. "Honestly I think it’s a cool and accessible way for fans to meet people, plus it’s safer," one person wrote. "When they start doing these using AI reconstructions of people and their voices without the real person needing to spend their time meeting people - then it really becomes dystopian-like." "This is such a cool idea honestly," a second fan penned, with another reiterating: "I actually love this. It’s great for artists' safety and gives fans a chance to feel seen." One X user wrote: "Feels amazing tbh. If only I could call like this to my family that lives in another country. My son could see his grandparents in real size more often." It comes after the 20-year-old dropped her second studio album GUTS last Friday (8 September). To celebrate the release, Rodrigo surprised fans across New York at the GUTS Gallery pop-up experience. "I never got to actually experience any of the fun events that go along with an album release!” she told PEOPLE . "I never got to watch people as they listened to the songs for the first time. It’s really fun." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.