Chris Butler of The Waitresses calls Olivia Rodrigo's Christmas single an homage

Chris Butler, who wrote The Waitresses' 1981 staple "Christmas Wrapping," is pushing back on plagiarism accusations aimed at Olivia Rodrigo over "take me home (4 christmas)," the singer's first Christmas song, released Thursday (Nov. 5). "The vibe is there, but no plagiarism," he wrote in the YouTube comments, and he agreed with a commenter who described the track as an homage rather than a ripoff.

In a Facebook post, Butler laid out the backstory. He said he received an email roughly two months ago from someone claiming to be Olivia Rodrigo, full of praise for The Waitresses and inviting him to hear a newly written Christmas song. Butler said he assumed it was fake because he didn't know who she was, then researched her career.

He praised the arrangements, the soft-loud-soft dynamics and the fact that the recordings sound like real people playing. Butler also applauded Rodrigo for insisting on being recognized as a songwriter and for holding on to her masters when she signed her deal, predicting the single could contend for the UK Christmas number one.

The two eventually met after her Unraveled Tour show in Columbus, following repeated messages from a label representative. Butler noted that he and Beth paid for their tickets despite being offered comps, citing a personal policy of paying to see friends perform. In a separate post, he thanked the BBC for a piece on the connection between the two songs and credited Rodrigo for handling the situation properly.

The release also includes a vinyl- and cassette-exclusive B-side, a downbeat track titled "miss this christmas." On Thursday's Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, music video co-star Cynthia Nixon referred to an Olivia Rodrigo Christmas album.