Taylor Swift weighs in on Charli XCX as Brat fuels feud rumors

New York, New York - Taylor Swift has opened up about fellow pop star Charli XCX as rumors swirl that she was the inspiration about one of the songs on Brat.

Taylor Swift (r.) has opened up about fellow pop star Charli XCX as rumors swirl that she was the inspiration about one of the songs on Brat.
Taylor Swift (r.) has opened up about fellow pop star Charli XCX as rumors swirl that she was the inspiration about one of the songs on Brat.  © Collage: ANGELA WEISS / AFP & Jamie McCarthy / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

In an interview with New York Magazine published Monday, Charli dished on the meteoric rise her latest album has afforded her.

The outlet drew direct comparisons between the Brat "era" and Taylor's career before highlighting the seemingly fraught relationship between the two that goes back several years.

But while there's plenty of evidence of some tension between the former tourmates, Taylor appears to have no bad blood with Charli.

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"I've been blown away by Charli's melodic sensibilities since I first heard Stay Away in 2011. Her writing is surreal and inventive, always," she told the magazine.

"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. I love to see hard work like that pay off."

The lore behind a rumored feud dates back to 2018, when the 32-year-old opened for Taylor on the Reputation Stadium Tour, after which Charli infamously described the experience as feeling as though she was "getting up onstage and waving to 5-year-olds."

Charli apologized to Taylor's fans for the comment, but Swifties have suspected the beef didn't actually end thanks to the Brat song Sympathy is a knife.

The track gives apparent nods to the 34-year-old as Charli shares her insecurities around a fellow pop star, with Taylor's inspiration becoming clear with the lines, "Don't wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend's show / Fingers crossed behind my back I hope they break up quick."

The Boom Clap singer's boyfriend in question is George Daniel, a member of The 1975, and Taylor shared a brief but evidently poignant romance with the band's frontman, Matty Healy, in 2023.

Is Charli XCX's Sympathy is a knife about Taylor Swift?

Charli XCX (r.) and Camilla Cabello (l.) both served as opening acts on Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour.
Charli XCX (r.) and Camilla Cabello (l.) both served as opening acts on Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour.  © Christopher Polk / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Though Sympathy is a knife reignited the Taylor-Charli feud chatter, the Brit actually attempted to get ahead of the gossip by sharing an early "PSA" that Brat didn't include any diss tracks.

Instead, the song was meant to be a candid reflection of her very "human" insecurity and anxiety rather than any kind of real dig at its muse, and through the record, Charli hoped to spotlight the complicated reality of being a female artist.

"You are pitted against your peers but also expected to be best friends with every single person constantly," she explained. "If you're not, you're deemed a bad feminist."

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This unflinching honesty is a trademark of the current Brat era, and Charli took an even bigger risk by opening up about her even more fraught relationship with another female artist – Lorde – in Girl, so confusing.

Of course, the two have since worked it out on the remix – and the rest is history!

Cover photo: Collage: ANGELA WEISS / AFP & Jamie McCarthy / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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