Is Taylor Swift addressing her alleged feud with Charli XCX in a new song?
Fans online are speculating that Swift’s new song “Actually Romantic,” from her new album The Life of a Showgirl, may be referencing the Brat singer.
“I heard you called me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave,” sings Swift in the opening line of the song.
In another lyric, Swift adds, “High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me,” which some listeners believe could allude to Charli’s husband, George Daniel of The 1975—especially if the “ex” in question is Matt Healy, The 1975’s frontman and Swift’s rumored past flame.
The title itself, “Actually Romantic,” leads some fans to think it might be a subtle reference to Charli’s song “Everything’s Romantic.”
On the other hand, Charli XCX fans have speculated that her song “Sympathy is a Knife” from Brat is about Swift. In the track, Charli describes feeling insecure about a glamorous figure she sees “backstage at my boyfriend’s show,” adding that she hopes that individual and their partner “break up quick.”
In a 2024 interview with New York Magazine, Charli insisted there are no “diss tracks” on Brat.
"People are gonna think what they want to think," she said at the time. "That song is about me and my feelings and my anxiety and the way my brain creates narratives and stories in my head when I feel insecure and how I don’t want to be in those situations physically when I feel self-doubt."
In that same interview, Swift praised Charli in light of her commercial breakthrough with Brat, saying, “I’ve been blown away by Charli’s melodic sensibilities since I first heard ‘Stay Away’ in 2011. Her writing is surreal and inventive, always. She just takes a song to places you wouldn’t expect it to go, and she’s been doing it consistently for over a decade. I love to see hard work like that pay off.”
Some of the theories of a their feud gained more traction after Swift’s 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department blocked Brat from securing a top spot on the U.K. charts.
As reported by Salon, Swift’s released six surprise U.K.-exclusive digital album variants of the Tortured Poets album in June 2024 before the sales tracking window ended, helping her secure the top spot.
Brat eventually reached the top of the U.K. Official Albums Chart in October 2024 with the help of its star-studded remix album Brat and It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat, per Billboard.
Charli XCX previously served as Swift's opening act for her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018.
Swift is also kicking off her promotional trail for her new album this week in the UK. She’s set to appear on The Graham Norton Show on Oct. 3 and will be speaking with a number of UK radio shows.
Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl is out now.