The lyrics of a track from Taylor Swift’s newest album, The Life of a Showgirl, were just leaked, and now fans are convinced that those words are all about the billionaire singer’s rumored foe, Charli xcx. The song is reportedly titled ‘Actually Romantic’, and fans are connecting the dots of that title with a notable resemblance to Charli’s ‘Everything is Romantic’.
Here’s the catch: The lyrics of the song appear to be about Swift’s bad blood with someone (see Genius for the full lyrics). After all, one of the lyrics goes,
I heard you call me Boring Barbie, when the coke’s got you brave.
Might we point out that the 360 singer has been pretty open about her alleged drug use in her music; thus, fans speculate that this could be a direct jab at her.
Then there are the lyrics:
You said you’re glad he ghosted me
and
Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face
Both of these make it clear that it might as well be a diss track for an unnamed person. Not to mention, Swift even mentions that this unknown person’s obsession with her is “actually romantic” and that she views the same as flattering.
That said, due to these lyrics, numerous fans across X and Reddit are now busy assuming that this track from the Style singer’s latest album is actually about Charli xcx. Plus, there’s also the past speculation that Charli’s song Sympathy Is a Knife is about Swift, so that’s that as well.
Taylor Swift and Charli xcx Share Quite Some History Together
While their reported bad blood hasn’t been publicly confirmed by either of them, Taylor Swift and Charli xcx aren’t without a long shared history of their own. For one, close to a decade ago, the Apple singer, 33, opened up for the You Belong With Me singer, 35, on her Reputation Tour in 2018. At the time, the duo even performed Shake It Off together on stage.
However, things were reported to have taken a turn for the worse when Charli appeared to have formed a tighter bond with Matty Healy, who is one of Swift’s very famous exes. In recent years, since she dated (and is now married to) George Daniel, Charli has spent more time with Healy, who is Daniel’s bandmate from The 1975 and also its frontman.
Adding to this, it has also been widely reported that it was none other than the Boom Clap hitmaker herself who introduced Healy, 36, to his now-fiancée, Gabbriette Bechtel – a report that, needless to say, further rubs salt in the reported wound imbued in Swift’s friendship with Charli (via Page Six). And such a history certainly calls for songs to be made on the same.
But while this reported beef is one thing, it’s also worth noting that the Enchanted singer praised her rumored foe’s music last year. Talking to Vulture in August 2024, she praised Charli’s Brat album and her musicmaking as a whole, saying,
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.
Not to mention, earlier this year, during the 365 singer’s 2025 Grammy performance, Swift was seen enjoying herself and having a fun time as she danced along to the rendition, in which Gabbriette Bechtel was on stage as well (see X). So, well, that’s something to be kept in mind as well while addressing this speculated feud.
We See a Link Between Swift’s Actually Romantic and Charli’s Sympathy Is a Knife!
Besides connecting the dots between the title of Taylor Swift’s Actually Romantic and Charli xcx’s Everything Is Romantic, some eagle-eyed fans must have also noticed a link between the leaked track and Charli’s Sympathy Is a Knife. If anything, one of the lyrics from Swift’s song feels like it’s a direct reply from her to Charli.
Like, in the Brat singer’s track, there’s the lyric, “George says, ‘I’m just paranoid.’” And – brace yourselves – in Swift’s song, there are the lyrics, “How many times has your boyfriend said, ‘Why are we always talking ‘bout her?’” See the link?!
Plus, even though the Wildest Dreams singer has yet to remark on any of these rumors and speculations, this decorated history that Swift and Charli have shared is more than enough to have fans believing that there’s more to the story than what meets the eye (or, in this case, what meets the ears). Take a look at what some of these fans have to say on X:
Last year bRAT’s entire was built on hating on Taylor and it was peak comedy to Charli fans (including you), but now the second she gets called a cokehead y’all want to talk about feminism? 😭 https://t.co/GWyePAt3Sh pic.twitter.com/2f4vdIK2Nv
*Charli does c0ke and sells c0ke themed vinyl*
Taylor: "You did c0ke"
"THIS EVIL WHITE WOMAN"pic.twitter.com/BWWkIOuBoy
the concept of taylor swift saying she's wet because charli xcx hates her…. i can't fucking do this shit man 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/fKBuLsFkwV
the concept of taylor’s gayest lyrics to date being on a charli xcx diss track pic.twitter.com/Eys11SdCeM
so let me get this straight… taylor clocked that lady because she:
• called her a boring barbie
• tacky
• encouraged + cheered when matty ghosted her
• talked about how she didn’t like to see taylor backstage at 1975 shows
yet she’s the bad guy bc charli is….. insecure? pic.twitter.com/OpiGel9P7r
charli, 18 months ago: "i drown in insicurities when i think i will never be as loved and successful as the biggest artist right now"
taylor: "you are a cokehead, you scare me as much as a chihuahua would, and love me more than men" pic.twitter.com/YeVHDuF9HY
seeing what taylor swift wrote about charli xcx in her new song makes me sad. taylor swift totally missed the plot of sympathy is a knife. #thelifeofashowgirl #TaylorSwift pic.twitter.com/8XjX1vD9vE
charli really went from marina froot beef to having taylor swift making a whole diss track…. angels we really made it to the big leagues pic.twitter.com/J6hB0bqh9U
Well, Taylor Swift is pretty famous for her Easter eggs in her music and writing songs based on her experiences with people. Additionally, these leaked lyrics clearly indicate that the track has been inspired by a history that feels awfully similar to the one she has shared with Charli xcx. So it might be more likely than not that Actually Romantic is, indeed, for Charli!
Charli xcx Debunked Rumors of Sympathy Is a Knife Being About Taylor Swift, Though
Apart from all of this, Charli xcx appeared to pretty much stash away all those rumors of there being bad blood between her and the billionaire singer as well. For one, some of the lyrics of Sympathy Is a Knife had fans theorizing that it was actually about Swift. Like the part “This one girl taps my insecurities / Don’t know if it’s real or if I’m spiraling.”
However, Charli was quick to debunk the rumors on TikTok. In May 2024, she said,
I’m seeing online that some people think there are diss tracks on ‘Brat’ and I just wanted to come on here and clarify that there aren’t — apart from maybe ‘Von Dutch,’ which kind of is — but the other tracks in question aren’t diss tracks. They’re really just about how it’s so complicated being an artist, especially a female artist, where you are pitted against your peers but also expected to be best friends with every single person, constantly.
With that out there as well, it comes off as a pretty complicated situation to deduce for real if there’s actually bad blood between Taylor Swift and Charli xcx, and if Actually Romantic is truly a diss track aimed at Charli. Thus, for now, we’ll just let all those eager fans put their impeccable investigative skills on full display as they try to unravel this mystery.
What do you think? If it’s indeed true, which side of the table are you on? Make sure to share with us in the comments below!
The Life of a Showgirl officially drops on Friday, October 3, 2025.
