Soooo, Taylor Swift’s “Actually Romantic” is most definitely not a love song about her now-fiancé, Travis Kelce. In fact, it’s a pretty scathing diss track… seemingly about a woman. It’s giving “Bad Blood,” “thanK you aIMee,” etc. Between this song and the Tate McRae/Kid Laroi musical showdown, pop beef is officially back, folks.
In the new Life of a Showgirl track, Taylor quips that it’s “actually romantic” how much time her opp devotes to her. And, um, there are some pretty clear hints about the subject of the song — fans are already convinced that “Actually Romantic” was inspired by the BRAT queen herself, Charli XCX. (You may recall that Charli’s “Sympathy Is a Knife” is rumored to be about Taylor.)
Is Taylor Swift’s “Actually Romantic” really about Charli XCX? Is it a response to “Sympathy Is a Knife”? Let’s break down these very interesting lyrics.
Is Taylor Swift’s “Actually Romantic” About Charli XCX? Lyrics Breakdown
Taylor Swift And Charli XCX Rumored Beef Explained
In the first verse, Taylor sings: “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave / 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.”
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Why do fans think these lyrics are about Charli? Well, for starters, the pop icon’s openly referenced cocaine in her music before. In her single “365,” she sings: “Should we do a little key? Should we have a little line?” Not to mention, she made a plastic bag (a pointed reference to drug use) the image of her BRAT tour poster.
Charli’s also good friends with Taylor’s ex, Matty Healy — he was the DJ at Charli and George Daniel’s wedding earlier this month. And yes, she allegedly wrote “Sympathy Is a Knife” about Taylor.
In “Sympathy Is a Knife,” Charli gets vulnerable about a girl who makes her feel insecure. “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick,” she says. Since Charli’s partner, George Daniel, and Taylor’s ex, Matty Healy, are bandmates, it’s likely Taylor and Charli saw each other backstage several times.
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Back to “Actually Romantic”: later in the song, Taylor teases, “No man has ever loved me like you do.” In the bridge, she even says this person’s mean behavior/fixation on her is “kinda making me wet.” (If you told me 10 or 15 years ago that that was a real Taylor lyric, I would’ve laughed.)
If this song really is a Charli diss, it’s pretty shocking considering what Taylor said about her just a year ago. In an October 2024 interview with New York Magazine, she gushed: “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.”
Either things have really changed since then or fans are totally off with this theory.