They’re two of the world’s biggest pop princesses, with dozens of awards between them – and millions of adoring fans.
But former tour mates Taylor Swift and British singer Charli XCX now appear to be at the centre of showbiz’s most prominent and growing feud, thanks in part to pointed lyrics featuring in Taylor’s new album, The Life Of A Showgirl.
‘I heard you call me “Boring Barbie” when the coke’s got you brave,’ Swift sings on her track Actually Romantic, in a lyric that many listeners interpreted as a pointed jab at Charli, who has openly referenced drug use in her own music. However, neither party has yet confirmed who the song is really about.
She follows it up with: ‘High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me / Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face’ – seemingly a reference to Charli’s friendship with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy, whom Taylor briefly dated in 2023.
She also hints that the singer in question is seemingly obsessed with her, adding: ‘But it’s actually sweet / All the time you’ve spent on me / It’s honestly wild.’
The pair have known each other for years – with Taylor bringing Charli out as a support act on her 2018 reputation tour – but, more recently, many have speculated there is growing bad blood between the pair.
Charli, whose real name is Charlotte Emma Aitchison, is married to George Daniels from the 1975, meaning she has grown closer with his bandmate Matty in recent years.
Matty himself is now engaged to model Gabbriette Bechtel, a long-time friend of Charli who has previously appeared in her music videos.
Are former tour mates Charli XCX and Taylor Swift feuding? Pictured together onstage in 2018
Charli, George, Matty and Gabbriette recently enjoyed a beach trip together as a four on a beach, before Charli and George tied the knot in a stunning ceremony in Sicily last month – a move that seems far removed from her former tour mate.
During Taylor’s 2018 Reputation stadium tour, Charli opened for the 14-time Grammy Award winner on more than 50 nights.
But the first hint of trouble seemed to brew the following year in 2019, as while speaking to Pitchfork, Charli said: ‘As an artist, it kind of felt like I was getting up onstage and waving to 5-year-olds.’
She went on to say following the tour she it made her decide to never open for anyone again.
Charli added: ‘I’ve done so much of it, and it really cemented my status as this underdog character, I need to just own my own f***ing s*** finally.’
Following backlash, she later took to her social media to say her comments had been taken out of context, insisting: ‘As I say in the article and have said many times before, I am extremely grateful to Taylor for inviting me to open for her.
‘She’s one of the biggest artists of my generation and the Reputation tour was one of the biggest tours in history.’
She said that, prior to the tour, she had been playing ’18+ club shows’ and performing for ‘all ages’ had been ‘new to me’.
Taylor seemingly took aim at Charli in a track on her new album The Life Of A Showgirl. However, neither party has confirmed who the song is really about
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A month later, she seemed to imply everything was all good between them once more, telling the Sunday Brunch talk show: ‘She’s an incredible businesswoman and she’s really kind. She makes us feel, like, so welcome. It feels like a girl gang on tour together, it’s really good.’
Taylor’s new lyrics are not the first time the pair seem to have taken aim at each other purely through their song lyrics.
In Sympathy Is a Knife, the third track on Charli’s 2024 album BRAT, the singer describes feeling anxiety about another woman, singing: ‘I couldn’t even be her if I tried’.
In the lyrics she also says, ‘Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back / I hope they break up quick’.
Although the song is not critical about anyone, fans started speculating that the song was about Taylor as she was dating Matty when Charli likely wrote the lyrics.
Another line read: ‘It’s a knife when you’re finally on top… / They want to see you fall,’ which could be a reference to Taylor’s chart dominance.
Moreover, Taylor’s new tune Actually Romantic is believed to be a comeback to Charli’s 2018 track Everything Is Romantic.
However, Charli appeared to address the rumoured rift in an article with New York magazine in August last year.
Camila Cabello, Taylor Swift, and Charli XCX pose onstage before opening night of Taylor Swift’s 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour
Fans believe Actually Romantic contains a reference to Charli with the lyrics ‘high fived my ex’. Taylor and Matty pictured in 2023
She said: ‘People are gonna think what they want to think. That song is about me and my feelings and my anxiety and the way my brain creates narratives and stories in my head when I feel insecure and how I don’t want to be in those situations physically when I feel self-doubt.’
Taylor also contributed to the article and gushed she is ‘blown away’ by the Brat singer’s music.
The Fearless songstress said: ‘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 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.’
However, the magazine’s cover left Swifties fuming, as she appeared to be wearing a friendship bracelet on a severed hand.
She soon faced backlash with some saying the bloody-inspired shoot is insensitive in the wake of the Southport stabbings – where three children were killed at a Taylor-themed dance class.
In one photo from the shoot, the singer appeared on a hospital gurney, surrounded by paparazzi, with her hand cut off. Her severed hand was wearing a friendship bracelet with ‘Charli’ on it.
Friendship bracelets were a huge part of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, with millions of fans exchanging the homemade jewellery at the shows on her record-breaking shows.
However, other fans speculated that the bracelet is actually an allusion to ‘rave kandi’ and had no connection to Swift.
Charli demanded an end to alleged chants of ‘Taylor is dead!’ at her concerts immediately, calling it ‘disturbing’
Rave Kandi – which is similar to friendship bracelets – are often exchanged at raves, and Charli’s music talks about the rave scene.
Despite this, Charli demanded an end to alleged chants of ‘Taylor is dead!’ at her concerts immediately, calling it ‘disturbing’.
The singer took to her Instagram Stories to respond after being informed that some of her fans had been shouting the hateful message about fellow pop star Taylor Swift during her gigs.
Calling for it to stop, she declared that it is ‘the opposite of what I want’ and warned that she would ‘not tolerate it’.
After a concert in São Paulo, Brazil in June, someone shared a number of videos of attendees appearing to chant ‘A Taylor Morreu’, which translates in English to ‘Taylor is dead’.
The fan addressed Charli, saying: ‘Hey @charli_xcx, your Brazilian fans have been showing toxic behaviour by screaming ‘Taylor is dead!’ in your concerts and events related to you.
‘Could you do something about it? We don’t [believe] that’s what music should be about.’
Sharing a screenshot of the tweet, Charli replied on her Instagram, writing: ‘can the people who do this please stop. online or at my shows.
‘it is the opposite of what I want and it disturbs me that anyone would think there is room for this in this community. i will not tolerate it.’