Fans of Charli XCX are accusing Taylor Swift of writing a diss track about the other singer. The song in question is “Actually Romantic,” a track from Swift’s new album The Life of a Showgirl.
Fans quickly linked the lyrics to Charli, whose 2024 single “Sympathy Is a Knife” explored her own insecurities.
“I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave,” Swift sang in the opening lines. “High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me.” Because the verse echoed Charli’s earlier themes, some suspected it targeted her directly.
Swift’s chorus compared her subject to a “toy chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse.” Many read this line as mocking rather than affectionate.
When speaking to Amazon Music about “Actually Romantic,” Swift insisted the inspiration was a broader concept. She explained, “It’s a song about realizing that someone else has kind of had a one-sided adversarial relationship with you that you didn’t know about.” She framed it less as an attack and more as an acknowledgment of unwanted attention.
A history of the alleged beef between Taylor Swift and Charli XCX
The connection between the two musicians stretched back to Charli’s brat track “Sympathy Is a Knife.” In that song, Charli admitted, “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back / I hope they break up real quick.” At the time, listeners speculated she referenced Swift’s short relationship with Matty Healy. He played alongside Charli’s husband, then boyfriend, George Daniel, in their band The 1975.
However, Charli rejected claims that the song was a diss. She told Vulture in August 2024, “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 herself praised Charli’s creativity in the same interview. “Her writing is surreal and inventive, always. […] I love to see hard work like that pay off,” she said. Despite those positive words, fans revived feud rumors once Swift’s new track dropped on Oct 3.
Charli XCX fans respond with backlash online
Although Swift attempted to downplay the context, fans on social media pushed back. They accused her of tearing down another woman in the industry. Consequently, the discourse around the track spread across social media platforms.
On TikTok, users dramatized their reactions by pretending to shield Charli XCX from Swift.
Others parodied how other celebrity musicians might respond to being name-dropped.
Meanwhile, on X, @skinnyforlunch tweeted, “taylor swift making a diss track towards charli xcx just proves she was never a feminist and released versions only to block women on billboard.”
@queerlilgremlin noted, “i will say i’m surprised by how many times she called women b*tches after that being a whole thing in the man because ‘that’s what they call us.”
Other posts highlighted the lyrical contrast between the artists. X user @jarodzsz wrote, “tay writing a song calling charli a coke whore when charli was literally singing about buying a gun and killing herself because she’s so insecure.”
Fans also empathized with Charli’s vulnerability. “Imagine creating the biggest album of your career […] only for the biggest pop star in the world to turn around & call you a cokehead,” tweeted @cootboop.
Meanwhile, @machzazerov said, “i actually feel genuinely sad for charli… this is just such a hurtful thing to do.”
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