Charli XCX seems to have shaded Taylor Swift during her surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live.
The 33-year-old pop star joined musical guest Role Model on episode two of season 51, which saw Amy Poehler in the hosting role.
While performing his hit song Sally, When the Wine Runs Out, the artist — real name Tucker Pillsbury — shouted, ‘Where’s my Sally tonight?’ before Charli made her entrance.
She stepped out wearing a black mini skirt, a Max’s Kansas City T-shirt, and black sunglasses.
Fans are now speculating that her shirt could be a reference to Taylor Swift — whose fiancé Travis Kelce plays for the Kansas City Chiefs — as rumors swirl of a feud between them.
It comes after Taylor, 35, released the song Actually Romantic on her The Life of A Showgirl album, which Swifties believe to be a diss track aimed at the Brat singer.
Charli XCX seems to have shaded Taylor Swift during her surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live when she stepped out in a Kansas City shirt
Fans are speculating that her shirt could be directed at Taylor – whose fiancé Travis Kelce plays for the Kansas City Chiefs – as rumors swirl of a feud between them
Taking to X, one person asked if there was ‘any chance’ that Charli’s shirt could have been a dig
One social media user wrote that Taylor is ‘screaming into her pillows’ after the Charli cameo
Charli’s last album, 2024’s hugely successful project titled Brat, included the song Sympathy is a knife, whose lyrics fans have interpreted to reference Taylor.
Also included on the LP is a song called Everything is romantic, which would tie into fans’ theory that Taylor’s Actually Romantic is Charli-related.
Actually Romantic includes the line, ‘I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave.’
Following Charli’s TV appearance, one viewer wrote on X, ‘Iconic cameo and that ‘Boring Barbie’ top is the petty cherry on top!’
The person added: ‘Charli and Role Model just owned SNL!’
And one social media user wrote that Taylor is ‘screaming into her pillows’ after the Charli cameo.
Others were more on Taylor’s side and wrote: ‘The KC T-shirt… oh tiny chihuahua, you will be dealt with’, quoting a lyric from Actually Romantic.
Another said: ‘OK and how [long] has Charli been going around and talking s*** about Taylor? SHE’S too old to be doing this.’
But other, more practical pop culture enthusiasts pointed out that the Kansas City shirt Charli wore on Saturday night is from Role Model’s merch line.
‘Role Model’s 2024 album is called Kansas Anymore and the shirt actually references a bar at 213 Park Ave in NYC,’ said X user @tscuniversity13.
It comes after Taylor, 35, released the song Actually Romantic on her The Life of A Showgirl album, which Swifties believe to be a diss track aimed at the Brat singer; pictured October 8
Charli XCX and Swift pictured in 2014
Following Charli’s TV appearance, one viewer wrote on X, ‘Iconic cameo and that ‘Boring Barbie’ top is the petty cherry on top!’
More practical pop culture enthusiasts pointed out that the Kansas City shirt Charli wore on Saturday night is from Role Model’s merch line
Someone else said nothing, but simply posted a photo of Role Model wearing the same T-shirt at another point during Saturday night’s broadcast
But there was still pushback as one person rebutted, ‘No one cares that it’s his merch’
Someone else said nothing, but simply posted a photo of Role Model wearing the same T-shirt at another point during Saturday night’s broadcast.
But there was still pushback as one person rebutted, ‘No one cares that it’s his merch. She knew exactly wtf she was doing and how she could used it as shade but also play it off if brought up. It’s weird fan behavior.’
Another chimed in saying: ‘As both a Taylor and [Role Model] stan this has nothing to do with Taylor and everything to do with a bit [Role Model] has about having beef with Charli a week ago none of you cared so move on.’
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In Actually Romantic, Taylor sings, ‘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,’ possibly a reference to Charli’s friendship with her husband George Daniel’s The 1975 bandmate Matty Healy.
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.’
Earlier this month Taylor spoke about the song saying: ‘The song Actually Romantic is sort of a love letter to someone who hates you.
‘It’s, like, sometimes you don’t know that you’re a part of someone else’s stories, but you are. There can be this moment, where [it’s revealed] to you through things that they do that are very overt.’
‘As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started being, like, ‘Oh my God, you did so much with this. It’s flattering. I don’t hate you, and I don’t think about all this.’
Actually Romantic features the lyrics: ‘I heard you call me Boring Barbie when the coke’s got you brave / 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.’
It comes after Charli was rumoured to have written a song about Taylor called Sympathy Is A Knife which featured on her hit album Brat.
In the song, Charli sand: ‘Don’t know if I’m spiralling/ One voice tells me that they laugh/ George says I’m just paranoid/
‘Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show/ Fingers crossed behind my back/ I hope they break up real quick.’
In February, Taylor was seen dancing as Charli sang Von Dutch at this year’s Grammy Awards – where her album Brat was nominated for a whopping eight gongs.
The pair have known each other for years – with Taylor bringing Charli out as a support act on her 2018 reputation tour
Fan’s shared their thoughts on social media and claimed Taylor was ‘never a feminist’ and branded her lyrics as ‘ridiculously corny.’
They wrote on X: ‘Taylor Swift making a diss track towards Charli xcx just proves she was never a feminist and released versions only to block women on billboard’;
‘F*** you, Taylor ‘Boring Barbie’ Swift. Just admit you’re jealous of Charli xcx’; ‘Taylor’s new album attempting to diss Charli but the lyrics are ridiculously corny’
‘Charli could make The Life of a Showgirl but Taylor couldn’t make Brat and that’s all there is to it really’;
‘I’m sorry but the life of a showgirl is one of Tay’s weakest albums in my opinion. It’s pretty basic and I don’t understand the random Charli diss.’
Meanwhile, others disagreed adding: ‘Some people are getting way too brave about this album. Taylor’s worst song is still better than Charli’s best song mind you’;
‘The way Taylor was dancing her a** off to Charli’s performance knowing damn well she has a whole song written about her waiting to be released she’s so funny I love her.’
Daily Mail contacted Taylor’s representative for comment at the time.
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, 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.
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.’
The former tour mates appear to be at the centre of a feud, thanks in part to pointed words about Charli’s ‘coke habit’ in the track on Taylor’s new album, The Life Of A Showgirl
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’.