Taylor is undeniably throwing some shade at the 'Sympathy is a knife' singer, but one can't help but wonder: can't they work it out on the remix?

Last night, Taylor Swift dropped her twelfth studio album, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/shopping/orange-outfits-the-life-of-a-showgirl-taylor-swift-album" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Life of a Showgirl,</a> and needless to say, Swifties wasted no time playing detective. The song that is shrouded with most speculation is "Actually Romantic," which cheekily throws shade at someone in Swift's life who talks about her so much it's... well, actually kind of romantic. From the first lyric, "I heard you call me 'Boring Barbie' when the coke's got you brave," fans quickly made the connection to <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/everything-we-know-about-charli-xcx-s-upcoming-films" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charli XCX</a>.
Last year, XCX dropped her album Brat, which solidified the singer's image as the party girl of the music industry while still being extremely vulnerable. The record includes a song called "Sympathy is a Knife" that shares feelings of insecurity around other famous female artists. She sings: "Don't wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend's show / Fingers crossed behind my back I hope they break up quick / Cause I couldn't even be her if I tried / I'm opposite I'm on the other side."
Angels and Swifties alike speculated that this lyric references Taylor Swift's presence at the 1975's 2023 show in London, where she sang a cover of "The City" by the band, and "Anti-Hero," a song from her then-freshly released album Midnights.&nbsp;By this point, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/charli-xcx-marries-george-daniel-1975-wedding-photos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">George Daniel </a>and Charli XCX were dating, and the two singers likely crossed paths, and their interactions&mdash;or lack thereof&mdash;inspired the spirit of "Sympathy is a Knife."
The "360" singer got wind that people were speculating "Sympathy is a Knife" was a diss track, but she quickly clarified this was not the case, and that none of her songs "except maybe 'Von Dutch'" were pointed at anyone in particular, stating: &ldquo;They&rsquo;re really just about how it&rsquo;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.&rdquo;
What fans online are wondering is, why are the two singers feuding in the first place? Is there even a feud? Before the release of The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift had been on record saying that she admired Charli XCX and her melodic sensibilities. Charli XCX spoke out when a fan shouted "Taylor Swift is dead" during one of her concerts in Brazil, "Can the people who do this please stop. Online or at my shows. It is the opposite of what I want, and it disturbs me that anyone would think there is room for this in this community. I will not tolerate it." While Charli XCX has yet to respond to "Actually Romantic," Swift has explained the meaning of the song in a track-by-track breakdown of the album for <a href="https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0FTLD3NT7?ref_=dmm_art_osm_us_na_pop_tstloasg_mpla_v1_">Amazon Music</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;
She says: "[Actually Romantic] is a song about realizing that someone else has kind of a one-sided, adversarial relationship with you that you didn't know about. And all of a sudden they start doing too much and they start letting you know that actually, you've been living in their head rent-free and you had no idea... It's actually pretty romantic if you think about it."
In any event, in a sea of love songs about <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-relationship-timeline-dating-football-chiefs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Travis Kelce</a>, "Actually Romantic" is thus far the most talked-about song online. Swifties and angels were both sent into a tizzy about these lyrics, and patiently await Charli XCX's reaction, if there is one to be had in the first place.&nbsp;

Taylor Swift and Charli XCX at the 2014 iHeart Radio Jingle Ball. Getty Images.

Showgirl vs Brat? Inside Taylor Swift And Charli XCX's Apparent Feud 

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Showgirl vs Brat? Inside Taylor Swift And Charli XCX's Apparent Feud

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