As you’ve likely heard by now, Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, hit stores and streaming services today.
The response from fans has been predictably rapturous, while the critical reaction to Taylor’s latest has been decidedly mixed.
One song in particular is earning Swift some of the harshest criticism of her career, thanks to scathing lyrics that seem to be directed at fellow pop star Charli XCX.
Taylor Swift goes nuclear in response to Charli XCX’s ‘Sympathy Is a Knife’
Prior to her relationship with Travis Kelce, Taylor dated Matty Healy, lead singer of The 1975.
The relationship brought her into regular contact with Charli, who recently married 1975 drummer, George Daniel.
A song on Charli’s 2024 album Brat raised eyebrows, as it appeared to reference Taylor in the lyrics.
“This one girl taps my insecurities / Don’t know if it’s real or if I’m spiraling,” Charli sings on the track.
“One voice tells me that they laugh / George says I’m just paranoid / Says he just don’t see it, he’s so naive
I’m embarrassed to have it, but need the sympathy / ‘Cause I couldn’t even be her if I tried / I’m opposite, I’m on the other side,” the song continues.
The lyrics are clearly more about Charli’s insecurities than the girl who “taps” them.
Nevertheless, Taylor allegedly took the song as a challenge and responded with a song titled “Actually Romantic,” in which she lashes out at a drug-fueled rival who’s friends with her ex:
“I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave,” Swift sings on the track.
“High-fived my ex and then said you’re glad he ghosted me/ Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face/ Some people might be offended/ But it’s actually sweet.”
Taylor Swift receives harsh criticism for song that seemingly targets Charli XCX
Across social media, users accused Taylor of being unnecessarily cruel to Charli, with many pointing out that Swift seems to have misinterpreted the lyrics to “Sympathy Is a Knife.”
“Imagine creating the biggest album of your career & writing a deeply honest & vulnerable song about how insecure you feel compared to the other girls in your industry bc you think you’ll never be as good as them only for the biggest pop star in the world to turn around & call you a cokehead,” one X user wrote.
“When can we start a conversation about how that blonde lady cannot stand seeing other women being successful and it just became really painfully obvious,” another added.
“I actually feel genuinely sad for Charli. This is just such a hurtful thing to do…to be the biggest pop star in the world & call an industry peer a cokehead bc she wrote a vulnerable & beautiful piece of music abt how she respects u so much that she feels small in a room w/ you,” a third chimed in.
A fourth summed up the situation with an imagined dialogue, writing:
“Charli: I’m suddenly thrown into the same social circles as one of the most successful female artists on the planet and am having complex emotions about my place compared to hers.
“Taylor: That’s why you’re coked out and your career flopped for 10 years, stay pressed h-e.”
Entertainment site The Tab even wrote an entire article arguing that Taylor badly misinterpreted Charli’s lyrics — not a good look for a singer who recently dubbed herself “your English teacher.”
Needless to say, Taylor thinks of herself as the victim here — but a sizable segment of the population disagrees.