rundown
Charli XCX declined to comment on Taylor Swift’s rumored diss song, “Actually Romantic.” Instead, Taylor Swift revisited her response to a question about her song “Sympathy Is a Knife,” which is said to be about Swift. Charlie also spoke about online rumors about her and why “fact-checking is dead.”
Less than two weeks after Taylor Swift’s song “Actually Romantic,” rumored to be dissing Charli In a new cover story for Vanity Fair, the Brat singer didn’t specifically mention Swift, but he did make a new statement about the controversy over “Sympathy is a Knife,” which Swift allegedly responded to in response to her song on “Showgirls.”
Charlie, who is currently married to George Daniel of The 1975, sang about feeling insecure around women associated with the band. At one point, she confesses, “I don’t want to see my girlfriend backstage at my boyfriend’s show/fingers crossed behind my back. I hope we break up soon.” Swift briefly dated Matti Healy, lead singer of The 1975, in the summer of 2023.
But Charli and Swift’s history goes deeper than that, with Swift taking Charli out on her 1989 World Tour in 2015. Three years later, Charlie opened for Swift on the Reputation Stadium Tour.
In a discussion with Vanity Fair, Charlie reflected on how he answered a question asked by New York Magazine about “Sympathy is a Knife” in its August 2024 cover story.
Charli denied a fan theory that the song was about Swift, saying, “People are going to think what they want to think.” “That song is about me and my emotions and my insecurities and how my brain creates stories and narratives in my head when I feel insecure and how I don’t want to be physically in that situation when I’m not confident in myself.”
When a reporter asked if he was considering omitting the farewell lyrics for the giveaway, Charlie simply replied, “No.” “You’re playing the silence game, and I’m well aware of it. I’m hoping you’ll shut up and tell me more. But I don’t mind the awkwardness. We’re just sitting in silence.”
Vanity Fair writer Anna Peel noted that Charlie, by contrast, was very mild-mannered during the interview. Charlie replied, “I think I’m a very straightforward, straightforward person. I hate that word, but as you can see, that’s what I got. People think it’s some kind of performance, but it’s not. I’m sitting here, just like me on stage.” I’m not talking to you guys, but I think there’s a correlation between messiness and lack of perfection. It’s the combination of talking about those things and also embracing them and really struggling with them. Those are the things that make me whole. And I think that makes me honest. I hope you can vouch for me. ”
Peel said she can’t fact-check Charlie’s mind, but believes Charlie seems sincere. Charlie replied with a laugh: “Or I’m a psychopath.”
She also discussed the public’s misconceptions about her, saying, “If enough people on the internet say it’s true, it becomes true.”
He added: “We can’t (correct the record without escalating rumors). Fact-checking is over.”
Charlie said she reads all the online reporting about her, and revealed she is both horrified and fascinated by how publications such as the Daily Mail take her words out of context. “I have a big mouth and I talk shit, so I get in trouble sometimes,” she admitted. “You’re nice. But were you trying to get me on your side to expose more? I don’t know.”
Overall, Charlie says of the online discourse about her, “It’s interesting to see how people ingest your personality and spit it out. What do people hold on to and what do they miss? I’m always curious. What do casual viewers think? And maybe they think I’m a partying, drug-doing, bit mean girl.”
Learn more about Charli XCX and Taylor Swift
