Olivia Rodrigo Wears Amy Acton Governor Shirt at Columbus Concert
Olivia Rodrigo wore a T-shirt backing Amy Acton for Ohio governor during her concert in Columbus on Thursday, Oct. 29. The show was part of her Unraveled Tour and took place at the Schottenstein Center, an arena on the Ohio State University campus.
Billboard reported that the white shirt read "Dr. Amy Acton for Governor." During the set, Rodrigo pointed to the shirt and gave a thumbs-up to the camera feeding the arena's big screens. Kentucky.com reported that she wore the shirt again during her encore. The Columbus Dispatch described it as an "Amy Acton" shirt that backed her campaign.
Acton answered on Instagram. She posted a photo of the shirt with the caption "Ohio loves you, @oliviarodrigo!"
The shirt matters in Ohio because of the calendar. Voters go to the polls on Nov. 3, in the midterm elections, to choose a successor to Gov. Mike DeWine, who is term-limited and cannot run again. Acton's opponent is Vivek Ramaswamy.
The race has also been marked by a dispute over an advertisement. Ramaswamy aired an ad featuring Acton's mother, a woman Acton has not spoken with for more than 40 years. In the ad, the mother calls her daughter a liar and urges Ohioans not to vote for her without discussing "the rape case." Both Ramaswamy and Donald Trump have stood by the ad, even after rebukes from members of both major parties.
Rodrigo is a Grammy-winning singer. The Columbus show supported her 2026 album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, which Billboard describes as having topped the Billboard 200. That chart is the main weekly ranking of the best-selling albums in the United States, based on sales and streams.
Artists often talk about politics from the stage, though many keep their remarks general. A shirt with a candidate's name on it is more specific, and it puts a campaign in front of every person in the arena and on the livestream of the big screens. Rodrigo's team has not been quoted about the decision, and Acton's campaign has not described any arrangement with the singer.
For Ohio voters, the next step is simple. The polls open on Nov. 3, and the result will name the next governor.
