Amidst whispers of a rumored feud between pop icons Taylor Swift and Charli XCX, two of Swift’s close celebrity friends have been seen socializing with Charli. This sighting has added fuel to the ongoing speculation surrounding the relationship between the two artists.

Cara Delevingne, who has maintained a friendship with Swift since 2013, recently posted a series of photos on Instagram from the Academy Museum’s 5th Annual Gala held on October 18. Among these images was a picture featuring Ed Sheeran, another steadfast friend of Swift, alongside Charli XCX and actress Rachel Sennott. Notably absent from the event was Swift herself.

This gathering comes on the heels of Swift’s release of her 13th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” Fans have been buzzing with theories that the track “Actually Romantic” might be a thinly veiled jab at Charli XCX. The speculation largely stems from the song’s title, which some believe alludes to Charli’s 2024 track “Everything Is Romantic.”

Lyrics from the song have particularly caught the attention of fans. Swift sings, “I heard you call me boring Barbie when the coke’s got your brain / High-fived my ex and then said you’re glad he ghosted me,” followed by, “Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face / Some people might be offended.” These lines have only intensified speculation about a possible discord between the two stars.

Despite this, both Taylor Swift and Charli XCX have consistently denied any animosity. Yet, the release of “The Life of a Showgirl” has rekindled discussions about their relationship, with fans pouring over the lyrics of “Actually Romantic” for clues. As the debate continues, the interactions between their mutual friends remain a topic of interest for onlookers.

In the chorus, Swift hints that she’s unbothered by the other woman’s comments about her, singing, “But it’s actually sweet / All the time you’ve spent on me / It’s honestly wild / All the effort you’ve put in / It’s actually romantic / I really got to hand it to you / No man has ever loved me like you do.”

Many fans speculated that the song was a response to Charli’s Brat track “Sympathy Is a Knife,” in which the British artist sings about feeling insecure around another woman.

“Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick,” Charli sings in one line, referring to her now-husband, The 1975 drummer George Daniel. (Swift dated the band’s frontman, Matty Healy, in 2023.)

In the chorus, Charli adds, “’Cause I couldn’t even be her if I tried / I’m opposite, I’m on the other side / I feel all these feelings I can’t control.”

Charli denied that “Sympathy Is a Knife” was about Swift in an August 2024 interview with New York Magazine.

“That song is about me and my feelings and my anxiety and the way my brain creates narratives and stories in my head when I feel insecure and how I don’t want to be in those situations physically when I feel self-doubt,” she said. “Sometimes I’d look onstage and be like, ‘Oh, my God … I’m never going to play these rooms, ever.’ That made me feel jealous. I told Matty that. And George. They were both like, ‘Shut up. What are you talking about?’”

Charli XCX was the surprise “Sally” during Role Model’s Saturday Night Live debut, but did she subtly react to Taylor Swift’s lyrical allusion in the process? Role Model, 28, performed his hit “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” during the Saturday, October 11, episode of SNL, enlisting Charli, 33, for a cameo. After Role Model […]

Swift also praised Charli in the same interview, telling the outlet, “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.”

More recently, Charli declined to comment on the rumors that “Actually Romantic” is a diss track about her in an October 14 interview with Vanity Fair. However, she did reflect on her response to New York Magazine regarding “Sympathy Is a Knife.”

“I think I’m just quite direct and blunt,” she said. “I hate this phrase, but what you see is what you get with me. People think it’s all some kind of performance, but it’s not. I’m not sat here talking to you being the way that I am onstage. But I think there is a correlation in that there’s a messiness and a lack of perfection. It’s the combination of talking about those things whilst also embracing them and really struggling with them is what makes me whole. And I think that it makes me honest. You can vouch for me, I hope.”