NEED TO KNOW
Taylor Swift’s fans have been speculating that “Actually Romantic” is about Charli xcx since The Life of a Showgirl was released
Neither star has addressed the rumored diss track
In a recent interview, Charli xcx was asked about the track but declined to answer
Charli xcx swiftly dodged a question about Taylor Swift.
During a new interview with Vanity Fair, published on Tuesday, Oct. 14, Charli, 33, declined to answer a question about her former collaborator.
Before Charli’s interview, Swift released The Life of a Showgirl on Oct. 3, featuring the track “Actually Romantic.” Her fans interpreted the song as a response to Charli’s Brat song “Sympathy Is A Knife.” Charli’s latest album also included a song titled “Everything Is Romantic.”
Vanity Fair asked Charli about the rumors that “Actually Romantic” is a diss track, but she declined to comment.
Fans suspect that “Sympathy Is A Knife” is about Swift because some of the lyrics appear to be about Charli feeling insecure about another woman. “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back / I hope they break up quick,” the English pop star sings in the song.
Fans speculate that the lyrics reference Swift’s short-lived relationship with Matty Healy. However, Charli told Vulture in August 2024 that the song was about the way her “brain creates narratives and stories” when she feels self-doubt.
She didn’t clarify whether or not the song was about Swift, instead telling the outlet, “People are gonna think what they want to think.”
Joseph Okpako/WireImage
Charli xcx in July 2025
Charli also sparked speculation about her thoughts on “Actually Romantic” during a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live on Oct. 11. She was musical guest Role Model‘s surprise “Sally” while he performed his viral hit “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.”
As Role Model, 28, called out, “Where’s my Sally tonight?” the audience erupted in screams when Charli suddenly walked through a set of doors.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The “Apple” singer wore a black skirt and a “Max’s Kansas City” T-shirt with sunglasses. Fans thought the shirt was a reference to Swift, who is engaged to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
However, the T-shirt could have also been a nod to musician Role Model, who was seen wearing the same top in promo videos for SNL earlier in the week. His 2024 album is titled Kansas Anymore, and New York was also once home to the legendary Max’s Kansas City nightclub.
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty
Taylor Swift in October 2024
Swift hasn’t addressed the Charli rumors. In an Amazon Music chat, she said “Actually Romantic” is “about realizing that someone else has kind of had a one-sided, adversarial relationship with you that you didn’t know about.”
“And all of a sudden they start doing too much and they start letting you know that actually, you’ve been living in their head rent-free and you had no idea,” Swift explained.
“It’s presenting itself as them sort of resenting you or having a problem with you but you take that and just accept it as love and you accept it as attention and affection, and how flattering that somebody has made you such a big part of their reality when you didn’t even think about this,” she continued. “It’s actually pretty romantic if you really think about it.”
Read the original article on People