Is Taylor Swift firing shots at Charli XCX in her latest track?
Fans seem to think so. Swift’s brand-new song “Actually Romantic,” off her album The Life of a Showgirl, has sparked chatter online that it could be aimed at the Brat hitmaker.
“I heard you called me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave,” Swift opens, before following up with, “High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me.” Many believe the latter could be a nod to Charli’s husband, George Daniel of The 1975—and possibly Matt Healy, Swift’s rumored ex and frontman of the same band.
Even the title “Actually Romantic” has fans drawing connections, suggesting it’s a play on Charli’s track “Everything’s Romantic.”
Meanwhile, Charli’s own Brat cut “Sympathy is a Knife” fueled speculation from Swifties. In it, she sings about feeling small next to a glamorous figure “backstage at my boyfriend’s show,” hoping that person’s relationship ends quickly.
Still, Charli has denied throwing shade. In a 2024 interview with New York Magazine, she dismissed the idea of diss tracks on Brat:
“People are gonna think what they want to think. 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.”
Interestingly, Swift praised Charli in the same feature, calling her “surreal and inventive” and applauding her consistency since her early days.
Rumors of tension have only grown since Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department kept Brat from clinching the No. 1 spot on the U.K. charts, fanning the flames of a possible feud.
According to Salon, Swift dropped six surprise U.K.-exclusive digital variants of The Tortured Poets Department in June 2024 just before the sales tracking week closed—giving her the edge to clinch No. 1.
Charli’s Brat later got its turn at the top, finally hitting No. 1 on the U.K. Official Albums Chart in October 2024, boosted by her buzzy remix project Brat and It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat, as reported by Billboard.
For context, Charli XCX was once part of Team Swift, opening on her Reputation Stadium Tour back in 2018.
Now, Swift is rolling out the promo campaign for her latest project in the U.K., with a stop on The Graham Norton Show on Oct. 3 and several radio appearances lined up.
The Life of a Showgirl is officially out everywhere.
