{"id":349438,"date":"2026-03-16T18:57:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T18:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/349438\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T18:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T18:57:11","slug":"did-bruno-mars-like-a-post-dissing-taylor-swift-an-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/349438\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Bruno Mars Like a Post Dissing Taylor Swift? An Investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tFew things in pop are more dangerous that invoking the ire of the Swifties. (Just ask Jack White<\/a>.) Bruno Mars<\/a> appears to know this so well, he had to step in to quell any potential furor sparked by a likely fake bait post that proclaimed to show him dissing his fellow pop superstar.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe brouhaha bubbled up in a far-flung corner of the stan internet last Friday, when an account called Pop Faction<\/a> claimed to have evidence of Mars liking a post calling Taylor Swift<\/a> \u201ctalentless.\u201d The original post didn\u2019t really gain that much traction, but over on X<\/a>, where outrage reigns supreme, an aggregation by an account called PopFlop racked up over 11,000 likes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was here that Mars felt compelled to set the record straight, stating<\/a> in the replies: \u201cTaylor has always been supportive and kind to me. Only love over here. \u2764\ufe0f.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tNow, some might see this and decide, \u201cThat\u2019s good enough for me, no need to look into this further or think about it ever again.\u201d And this would be valid. Ignorance is bliss, after all. Others, however, might think to themselves, \u201cWait a minute, Mars didn\u2019t actually deny liking such a post.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd to those curious souls, we say: Let us now descend into the wilderness of mirrors that is the online pop-stan, rage-bait engagement economy \u2014 where what\u2019s fake is real, what\u2019s real is fake, where truth is fiction, and fiction may just contain an element of truth. It\u2019s where the only thing that matters, at the end of the day, is riling up enough people so that someone can make a couple hundred bucks off this slop from clicks, views, and comments.<\/p>\n

\n\tUpon initial closer inspection, the whole thing certainly seems like a haphazard hoax. The original \u201coffending\u201d post calling Swift \u201ctalentless\u201d was credited to the official BTS X account. Obviously, the pop group shared no such thing. And if they did, that probably would have been way more inflammatory than Mars giving it a like. (As several extremely online heads pointed out<\/a>, too, the \u201ctalentless\u201d post was actually repurposed from a completely different pop stan account that was actually criticizing Swift.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

\n\tBut the whole thing gets a little funky \u2014 and possibly verges on Pepe Silvia territory<\/a> \u2014 thanks to a piece of evidence proffered by the fine folks at PopFlop. As they noted<\/a> in the replies to their own aggregation, the post with the BTS branding was obviously bogus, but it was originally shared not by Pop Faction, but a third account called BopBase (self-described as \u201cyour best source for all parody culture related entertainment\u201d). <\/p>\n

\n\tIt was a BopBase Instagram Reel, which contained the fake \u201ctalentless\u201d post, which Mars allegedly liked. And a screen-recorded video shared by PopFlop does appear to lend some credence to this theory, enough for them to declare that Mars\u2019 allegedly incriminating like is \u201creal and verified.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\n\tRolling Stone, however, could not \u2014 alas \u2014 do the same. As of this morning, March 16, in the year of our Lord 2026, the Instagram account for BopBase has been mysteriously deactivated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tObviously, it goes without saying that, what with everything else going on in the world, this is the definitive story of the day, if not week, or month, or perhaps even year. Only time will tell. Either way, we promise to stay on this beat until the case is cracked and all guilty parties are vanquished to the Khia Asylum. If you have any information that might help us solve \u201cThe Mystery of Did Bruno Mars<\/a> Throw Shade at Taylor Swift<\/a>?\u201d please reach out to tips@rollingstone.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n