Olivia Rodrigo has cleared up rumors about her relationship with Taylor Swift.
Rodrigo, 23, told The New York Times’ “Popcast” on Friday that he “didn’t read into the internet speculation that deeply.”
“That comes with the territory, and it’s natural. If I jumped into all the internet sleuths who know what’s right and wrong about my life and my relationships, I think I’d just go crazy. There aren’t enough hours in the day.”
Swift was initially a vocal supporter of Rodrigo when she first rose to fame with her single “Driver’s License.”
In 2021, the “Cruel Summer” hitmaker publicly declared her support for the young star by sharing a screenshot on Instagram that showed “Driver’s License” reaching No. 3 on the iTunes charts. It sits just below her two “Evermore” songs.
“I said this is my baby and I’m really proud,” she said during Rodrigo’s accomplishment, according to Today.
Rodrigo cited Swift, 36, as one of his inspirations in a 2021 SiriusXM interview, saying he looks up to her.
In response to Swift’s support, Rodrigo called the pop star “the kindest person in the world.”
Rodrigo added: “I feel very lucky to have been born at the right time to look up to someone like her.” “I think she’s an incredible person, and her support and genuine care and excitement for me was really, really incredible.”
However, it is believed that friction between the stars began after Rodrigo belatedly gave Swift and producers Jack Antonoff and St. Vincenta a writing credit for her song “Deja Vu,” which appeared on her debut album Sour. Swift already had a writing credit on Rodrigo’s song “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back,” which included Swift’s song “New Year’s Day.”
The “Good 4 You” singer admitted in 2021 that the bridge of the track was inspired by Swift’s “Cruel Summer.”
“But I wanted the bridge at the end to be crazy, and I love ‘Cruel Summer,’ it’s one of my favorite songs of all time,” she told Rolling Stone’s The Breakdown.
“I love the screaming vocals in it, her harmonic screams. I feel like it’s very electric and moving, so I wanted to do something like that.”
When Rodrigo released her second studio album, Guts, fans speculated that Swift might have been the face behind songs like “Vampire” and “The Grudge.”
Rodrigo addressed this speculation in a 2023 interview with the Guardian.
“I was very surprised because that’s what people thought,” she said. “I mean, I never want to say who I’m singing about in my songs. I’ve never done that in my career and probably never will. I think it’s better not to categorize a song as being about this one thing.”
She also denied rumors of a feud in a 2023 Rolling Stone cover article.
“I don’t eat beef with anyone,” Rodrigo said. “I’m very calm. I only think about myself. I have four friends and my mother. And they’re really the only ones I talk to. There’s nothing to say.”
