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Taylor Swift vs Charli XCX: Why Swifties think 'coke' jibe in The Life of a Showgirl is a diss
Taylor Swift’s much-anticipated album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’, will drop at 12:01 ET on Friday.
Taylor Swift’s much-anticipated album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’, will drop at 12:01 ET on Friday. Just before the release, the Grammy winner's fans, popularly known as Swifties, have theories. They pointed out that the title of a leaked track is a diss at Charlie XCX. The song is called ‘Actually Romantic’. Fans said that the title resembles Charli’s Everything is Romantic.
One lyric in particular: 'I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave', has fueled speculation online. Many argue the line references Charli, who has openly sung about drug use in past songs like 365 from her Brat album.
Swift and Charli’s relationship has been complicated. Charli opened for Swift during the 2018 Reputation Tour and even joined her onstage for Shake It Off. But tensions reportedly grew after Charli became close with Matty Healy, Swift’s ex, while dating and later marrying Healy’s bandmate George Daniel. Charli is also said to have introduced Healy to his fiancée, Gabbriette Bechtel.
“charli xcx fans crying over actually romantic lyrics like she hasn’t been shading taylor for years,” one person said on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
“always remember that charli xcx is still on taylor's ig highlights,” another one added.
Fans have long speculated about rivalries between the two stars. In 2024, Charli denied rumors that tracks from Brat, including Sympathy is a Knife, were written about Swift. She clarified on TikTok, “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.”
Interestingly, Swift praised Brat in an interview with Vulture last year, saying, “Her writing is surreal and inventive, always. She just takes a song to places you wouldn’t expect it to go.”
Swift has not commented on the leaked lyrics. The Life of a Showgirl, her 12th studio album, is set for release on October 3.
