Music
Is Taylor Swift Dissing Charli XCX in ‘Actually Romantic’? Let’s Dive In
Days before TS12 dropped, whispers were already circulating: Was Taylor Swift about to release a Charli XCX diss track? Swifties shut their eyes, covered their ears, and prayed it was just internet noise. But now that The Life of a Showgirl is officially blasting in our headphones, the rumor mill is back in overdrive because “Actually Romantic” might just be taking aim at the Brat queen herself. And honestly? We hate to see our girlies fighting.
So… did Swift really call out the “Apple” singer? Do Miss Americana and Charli have a history of beef? And why exactly do fans think “Actually Romantic” is about her? Let’s get to work, Swifties and Swiftocrats.
What is “Actually Romantic” about?
Before we dive into the Charli connection, let’s look at what the song actually says.
In “Actually Romantic,” Swift sings about someone’s constant negativity toward her, but instead of letting it sting, she frames it as flattery. If her name lives rent-free in someone else’s head, that’s their problem. She insists she doesn’t “provoke” the situation, brushing off the shade as thinly disguised jealousy. (Although one could argue that this song is definitely provoking matters.)
It’s giving: “the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference.” And Swift, for once, seems pretty indifferent.
There’s no doubt the track is aimed at an unnamed rival. But is that rival Charli?
Why do people think “Actually Romantic” is about Charli XCX?
1. The “Sympathy is a Knife” connection
When Charli dropped Brat in 2024, fans immediately clocked “Sympathy is a Knife” as maybe-maybe-not about Swift. The lyric that caused the firestorm?
“Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick.”
At the time, Charli was dating (now married to) George Daniel from The 1975, the same band whose frontman, Matty Healy, briefly dated Swift. Timeline check: Swift did a surprise number at a 1975 London show in January 2023, and then dated Healy in spring 2023. Meanwhile, The 1975 played BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend that May, an event where both Swift and Charli could’ve been backstage. Messy, messy.
The lyric has long been read as shade toward Swift. But, to be fair, Charli herself has specified that the track is more about her own insecurities and how she measures herself against megastars like Swift. It’s not a diss track, but a vulnerable confession.
2. Charli’s timing on Twitter (or X, sigh)
When The Tortured Poets Department dropped in 2024, Charli happened to tweet the song title “Sympathy is a Knife” that same day. Coincidence? Or a sly wink? Fans thought the latter.
3. The title overlap
Charli gave us “Everything is Romantic” on Brat. Swift claps back with “Actually Romantic.” That’s a little too on-the-nose for the Swiftie detectives to ignore.
Which lyrics in “Actually Romantic” might refer to Charli?
The lyric that immediately sent Swifties into full Sherlock Holmes mode is the opener:
“I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave.”
Fans clocked this as a reference to Charli, who’s often associated with drug imagery in her work. From the cheeky Brat vinyl filled with faux cocaine to lyrics like “should we do a little key, should we have a little line” and “snow up my nose” in 2022’s “Hot Girl (Bodies Bodies Bodies),” Charli doesn’t exactly shy away from snow metaphors.
Not to mention that following Swift’s brief relationship with Healy in 2023, he shared a to-do list that included “break up with Margot Robbie,” referencing the lead actress of Barbie as a joke at Taylor’s expense.
“High-fived my ex and then said you’re glad he ghosted me.”
As mentioned, Charli’s hubby is bandmates with Healy, so it’s not a stretch to imagine them crossing paths. Swift herself has written about being ghosted by Healy in “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” track: “[Your friend] just ghosted you / Now you know what it feels like.” This lyric feels like a continuation of that sting.
“Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face.”
If that isn’t a wink at Brat’s “Sympathy is a Knife,” then what is? Fans have long speculated that Charli’s track circled around Swift, even if Charli herself insists it’s more about self-doubt than rivalry.
“How many times has your boyfriend said / ‘Why are we always talking ’bout her?'”
Ouch. In “Sympathy is a Knife,” Charli sang, “George says I’m just paranoid.” Taylor flips that around here, hinting that Daniel may have been dragged into more Swift convos than he’d prefer.
Altogether, it’s giving one big lyrical side-eye.
Are Taylor Swift and Charli XCX friends?
The short answer is… it’s complicated.
Charli first joined Swift’s orbit as an opener on the Reputation Stadium Tour back in 2018. While it was a career milestone, Charli later admitted that the experience wasn’t exactly a perfect fit: “As an artist, it kind of felt like I was getting up onstage and waving to five-year-olds.” The comment didn’t land well with Swifties, though Charli did apologize afterward.
Fast forward to 2024, and Charli made headlines again, this time for defending Swift. When fans in Brazil chanted “Taylor Swift is dead” at one of her shows, Charli shut it down on social media: “Can the people who do this please stop… it is the opposite of what I want.”
In an August 2024 interview with Vulture, Swift praised Charli’s “surreal and inventive” songwriting and said she’s been “blown away” by her melodic instincts since 2011’s Stay Away. “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,” Swift gushed. “I love to see hard work like that pay off.”
As for “Sympathy is a Knife,” the Brat track often speculated to be about Swift, Charli herself has tried to shut that down: “That song is about me and my anxiety… people are gonna think what they want to think.”
So, while Charli was never inducted into the 1989 Squad, it feels like a leap to call them enemies. In fact, Swift was even spotted enthusiastically dancing along to Charli’s Grammys set earlier this year.
Do you think “Actually Romantic” is about Charli XCX or another singer? Let us know in the comments.
