On Thurday (Nov. 5), Olivia Rodrigo released her first-ever Christmas song "take me home (4 christmas)," which immediately drew comparisons to the Waitresses' 1981 classic "Christmas Wrapping." The band's Christopher Butler made a post stating that the pop star had reached out to him in advance and they met at Rodrigo's Unraveled Tour in Columbus (which Stereogum reviewed) just last week. As many are jumping to accuse Rodrigo of plagiarism, Butler is doing his best to quell the backlash. "Thank you all for the comparisons to 'Christmas Wrapping,'" he wrote in the YouTube comments.
"The vibe is there, but no plagiarism." He also agreed with another commenter who referred to the song as an "homage" rather than a ripoff. In his original Facebook post, Butler explained what went down before the release of "take me home (4 christmas)": BACKSTORY: About two months ago, I received a weird email from someone claiming to be “Olivia Rodrigo”. It was filled w/ Waitresses gush, and just had to be fake.
Said she’d written a Christmas song, and invited me to hear it. I didn’t know who OR was, so I did a deep dig. If you really are you, thanks for contacting me.
And your comments are really sweet, and very flattering. They're really sweet and flattering...even if you AREN'T you. I like the arrangements especially.
And that your recordings sound like people are playing on them. I like that you're insisting on/demanding that you be recognized as a songwriter. I like that you have women in your band.
I like that your lyrics are intense, real, and poetic. I like that you "got" my songwriting, and that you like our band. I like that you were smart enough to hold on to your masters when you signed your deal.
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