Is Taylor Swift’s ‘Actually Romantic’ really about Charli XCX? Rumoured feud explained

Women simply can't escape the 'feud' rumours in the entertainment industry, and interest has piqued once more in the alleged bad blood between Taylor Swift and Charli XCX following the release of the artist's 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl.

The 12-track album has had mixed reviews so far, and has appearances from Sabrina Carpenter and a George Michael sample.

However, it's rumoured that 'Actually Romantic' could be a response to the Brat artist, where Swift details in the lyrics: “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave / High-fived my ex and then said you’re glad he ghosted me / Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face/ Some people might be offended / But it’s actually sweet.”

Until we see them scrapping in the street, we refuse to believe that their feud is anything more than internet hearsay, but some fans certainly seem convinced.

"Taylor wrote a s***** diss track because she missed the point", one fan wrote, defending Charli.

"Taylor's new album attempting to diss Charli but the lyrics are ridiculously corny", another wrote.

"What do I do as someone who is a superfan of both Taylor Swift and Charli XCX", a third penned.

Why do people think Taylor Swift and Charli XCX aren't friends?

Well, it goes back a lot further than you'd think - 2018 to be exact - when the London native opened for Taylor on the Reputation tour.

“As an artist, it kind of felt like I was getting up onstage and waving to five-year-olds", Charli noted to Pitchfork of her experience doing the shows, prompting outrage from Swifties.

Naturally, she then apologised and justified it by saying she was so used to playing 18+ venues that Taylor's music had made her "approach performances with a whole new kind of energy."

“As I say in the article and have said many times before, I am extremely grateful to Taylor for inviting me to open for her. She’s one of the biggest artists of my generation and the Reputation tour was one of the biggest tours in history,” Charli continued. “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I was given and how much fun it was to perform to a new audience!”

Fast forward to 2024, and it's a couple of months before Brat is about to release.

Charli takes to TikTok to ask fans not to read into the lyrics on the album, which would go on to be a three-time Grammy winner.

She claimed that there wouldn't be any diss tracks "apart from Von Dutch which kind of is", and that her other songs were about "how it's so complicated being an artist, especially a female artist, where you are pitted against your peers and also expected to be best friends with every single person constantly, when if you’re not, you’re deemed a bad feminist."

Charli continues: “That, to me is just like, such an unrealistic expectation. So yeah, these songs are kind of about how as a woman, as an artist, some days you can feel on top of the world, some days you can feel unbelievably insecure, other days you can feel highly competitive. Sometimes you can feel like literal trash. And it’s really emotional and it’s complicated to deal with, and we’re not supposed to talk about it, but these songs do talk about it. And I’ll probably chastised about it, but whatever, it’s reality.”

However, all of that went out the window when fans began to suspect 'Sympathy is a Knife' was in fact about the 'Red' singer; not least due to some very specific lyrics that would check out.

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“This one girl taps my insecurities. / Don’t know if it’s real or if I’m spiraling,” she sings. “’Cause I couldn’t even be her if I tried. / I’m opposite; I’m on the other side.”

It was these lyrics in particular that caught people's attention: "Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show. / Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick,” she notes, which fans believe is in reference to Swift's former relationship with The 1975's Matty Healy, and her own relationship with the band's drummer, George Daniel.

The 33-year-old later clarified the 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.”

Interesting. But it doesn't stop there.

Charli seemingly ended any speculation of a fallout while on tour in Brazil, when she condemned fans for chanting 'Death to Taylor'.

"Can the people who do this please stop,” she wrote in an Instagram story. “Online or at my shows. It is the opposite of what I want and it disturbs me that anyone would think there is room for this in this community.”

Swift echoed the peace between them during an interview shortly after, telling New York Magazine: “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.”

So, now you can imagine it seems even more bizarre that 'Actually Romantic' is being penned as a diss track towards XCX - but honestly - we can kind of see why.

It's clear from the first line that the song is definitely about...someone, as she blasts: "I heard you call me ‘boring Barbie’ when the coke's got you brave."

Naturally, people have put two and two together, given that Charli's album, Brat, was largely synonymous with partying and drug culture.

"High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me. Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face", she continues to sing, which fans have immediately pinned as a response to 'Sympathy is a Knife', and Charli's own lyrics about her hoping they "break up quick".

So, is the beef back on for our favourite pop duo? We certainly hope not, but the sleuths are the jury on this one...

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