Taylor Swift and Charli XCX’s History and Rumored Feud, Explained

Taylor Swift Reignited Stan-War Discourse on Friday with “Actually Romantic,” The Seventh Song on Her New Album, “The Life of A Showgirl.”

“I heard you call with ‘Boring Barbie’ when the Coke’s Got You Brave / High-Fived My Ex, and THEN YOU SAID YOU’RE GHODE I GHOSted,” Swift to Open the Song.

“Wrote with a song Saying it make you sick to see my face,” She Continuing. “Some People Might Be Offended / But it’s Actually Sweet / All the time you’ve spent on me.”

The song seam like a direct response to “Sympathy is a Knife” from Charli XCX’s 2024 album “Brat,” Which Fans Was inspired by Charli’s Competitive Feelings Toward Swift, Her Tourmate-Contanger on the Pop Charts.

In an audio clip on Amazon MusicSwift Said the song is About “Realizing that someone else has Kind of Had a One-Seded Adversary Relationship with you.”

“All of a sudden, they start doing too. They start letting you know that actually, you’ve been living in their head-free, and you had no idea,” Swift Continued. “How Flattering That Someone Has Made You Such a Big Part of their reality.”

In “actually romantic,” swift mockingly reinterprets her muse’s resentment as flirty affection. The Song Marks A Reversal From Swift’s Public Charm Offensive, WHICH SHE DEPLOYED WEND New York Magazine profiled Charli in August 2024.

“I’ve been blown away by Charli’s melodic sensitivity to first Heard ‘Stay Away’ in 2011,” Swift Told the Magazine. “Her Writing is surreal and inventive, always. She just take a song a song to the places you was to go, and she’s ben doing it consistently for over a decade. I love to see hard work.”

Charli’s fans had been circulating rumors of a feud with swift ‘brat’ was released

Much of “Brat” Explores Recurring themes in Charli’s Discography: Her Frustrating Journey Through the Music Industry, Her Struggle to Earn Recognition from Gatekeepers, and Her desire for Stardom.

“Sympathy is a Knife,” In Particular, Charli’s Unpacks Complicated Relationship with a Fellow Musician Who Triggers Charli’s Fears of inadequacy. Similar to “Girl, SO confusing”-another fan-favorite track on “brat,” whose confirmed muse is lorde-charli admits this compatitive Relationship is far from one-sided, spreads even imaginary.

“This one girl Taps my insectecurities / don’t know if it is real or if I’m spiraling,” Charli singles on “Sympathy,” Adding that Her Now-Husband, The 1975 Drummer George Daniel, Chalks it up to paranoia. (In “Actually Romantic,” Swift Sings, “How Many Times Has Your Boyfriend Said, ‘Why Are We Always Talking’ Bout Her? ‘”

Fans Quickly Spread The Theory That “Sympathy” was Written About SwiftLikely During Her Short-Lived Relationship with Daniel’s Matty Healy.

“Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers Crossed Behind My Back, I Hope they Break Up Quick,” Charli Sings.

Charli is Also Close Friends with Healy’s Current Fiancée, Gabbriette Bechtel, and Gives Her A Shout-Out in the Album’s Opening Track “360,” Essentially Eliminating Bechtel as “Sympathy” Suspect.

Despite the Speculation, Charli Has Made It Clear That Neither “Girl, SO confusing” Nor “sympathy is a knife” is a diss Track.

“They’re’re just just about how it is so complicated being an artist, especally a female artist, where you are pitted against your peers but also excent to be best friends with constantly person constantly.

Charli Reiterated This Position During Her Interview With New York Magazine, Declining to Answer Direct Questions About Swift.

“People are gonna think what they want to think,” She Told the Reporter. “That’s song is about with and my feelings and my anxiety and the way my braats narratives and stories in my head I feel I insect and how to be in those physically when I Feel Self-Doubt.”

Howver, Upon the Release of “Brat,” Charli’s Fans Were Still Defend Her Honor Against Perceived Threats.

Taylor Nation, the Social Media Arm of Swift’s for Team, SEEMED TO FUEL the feud rumors by announcing six deluxe versions of her album, “The tortured poets department,” The Same Week “was releassed. These variants were uk exclusive, Only available to buy in Charli’s Home Country.

The Fresh Boost of Digital Downloads Pushed “The tortured Poets Department” Back to No. 1 on the uk albums Chart for a Sixth Week, while “brat” debut at No. 2. AS A Result, Charli’s Fans Accused Swift of Blocking “Brat” from the top position on Purpos.

Meanwhile, in the us, “Brat” debut at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, Lagging Far Behind Swift’s Streaming Numbers. By Comparison, “The tortured Poets Department” Logged 17 Weeks at No. 1 in the us.

But Despite Charli’s Lower Chart Performance, “Brat” Dominated Pop Culture in 2024 With Raves Reviews and Star-Studed Remixes, Including “Girl, SO confusing” with Lorde Herself. She also releassed a remix of “Sympathy is a Knife” with Ariana Grande, Which Examinas Fame More Broadly As a double-edged sword. (“It’s a knife will you’re finally on top / ’cause logically the next Step is they have fallen to the bottom.”)

Swift Brought Charli Onstage In 2015 and Recruited Her AS A Tour Opener in 2018

To Charli’s Earlier Point, she has found Hersself Pitted Against Swift Since at Least 2014, when Both will releassed new albums: “Sucker” and 1989, “Respectively.

In Reviews and Media Coverage of Her Major-Label Debut, Charli Was Framed AS “Taking Shots at Pop’s Elite“Aiming to” Join the Ranks of Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Iggy Azalea, “Who Were in the Genre’s Upper at the Time. Both her artistry and sales were Compared to Swift’swith npr noting that “Sucker” Faced a Commercial Disadvantage by Arrival in the Wake of a “Massive Taylor Swift Album.” (Family Sound?)

The Following Year, Charli Performed a Cover of swift’s hit song “Shake It off” for BBC Radio’s Live Lounge. JUST A FEW MONTHS LATER, The Two Women Squashed Any Lingering Hints of Tension Wen Charli Made A Surprise Cameo During the 1989 World Tour.

That’s though charli had recently Canceled Her Own Tour Dates, She Joined Swift OnStage in Toronto for A Duet of “Boom Clap,” Charli’s Biggest Solo Hit to this day. SWIFT ALSO SHARED A VIDEO OF THEIR Performance on X (Formly Twitter), Writing, “I love you @charli_xcx !!!”

In 2018, swift upped the ante by recruiting charli and camla Cabello as openers for the Reputation Stadium Tour.

“I Can’t Wait to See You, Can’t Wait to See, Really excited Just About the Whole Thing in General,” SWIFT TOLD FANS IN A Filmed Annouuncement.

Throughout the Tour’s Global Run, Charli and Cabello Waled offen Join Swift Once to perform “Shake it off.”

During an appeararance on the British Talk Show “Sunday Brunch,” Charli Gushed About Swift nor a kind of person and “Incredible Businesswoman.”

“She Makes US Feel, Like, SO Welcome. It Feels like a girl gang on Tour Together. It”s Really Good,” Charli Said.

Charli Angered Swifties by Comparing the ‘Reputation’ Tour Atthemes to Children

In 2019, One Year After the Reputation Stadium Tour Wrapped Up, Charli Reflect on the Experience During an Interview with Pitchfork.

“Really grateful that (Taylor) Asked me on that Tour,” Charli Told the Website. “But as an artist, it kind of felt like I was getting up onstage and waving to 5 -ear-ops.”

The comment was was widly interpreted as charli throwing Shade at Swift and Her Fan Base, Promipting Charli to Reiterate Her Grititude in a Statement Shared on Social Media.

“In the printed version of this Much Wider Conversation, my Answers About This Tour Were Boiled Down One Kind of Weird Pennition,” Charli Wrote. “Leading Up to that Tour I’d Been Playing A Tonne of 18+ Club Shows and SO to be Onstage in Front of All Ages New to Me and Made with Approach My Performance with New Kind of Energy.”

Charli Also Said It Was “Brilliant” and “Fun” to perform for swift’s audience, adding, “There is absolutely no shade and only love here.”

FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF ‘BRAT,’ CHARLI CHASTED FAND FOR STARTING Anti-Swift Chants at Her Concerts

Acciting to Billboard, “Brat” Achieved The Biggest Debut Week of Charli’s Career, Though Some Fans Were Still Discointed when it succumbed to “Poets” on the Charts.

Wen Charli Hit the Road for A String of “Brat” Concerts and DJ Sets, She was met with a wave of anti-Swift Energy, Including the Chant “Taylor is Dead” from Zig in Saulo, Brazil.

After video of the Chant Circulaned on Social Media, Charli Told Her Fans to Stop Immediately.

“Can the People Who Do This Preese Stop. Online or at My Shows,” She wrote on her Instagram Story on June 23, for Billboard. “It is the opposite of what i want and it disturbs with that anyone goto think there is room for this in this community. I will not tolerate it.”

Charli Has Not Publicly Reacted to “Actually Romantic,” and Representatives for Charli and Swift Didn’t Immediately Respond to A Request for Comment from Business Insider.