October 3rd, 2025, was a big day in the music industry. Taylor Swift released her long-awaited 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. It’s arguably a good album, as she has reached 170 million plus streamers on her top songs and broken the record previously held by Adele’s 25. One of the most popular listens on her new album is the song “Actually Romantic,” which is currently playing quietly in the background as I write. At first listen, I caught onto the almost petty tone of the song, which left me with questions. Despite her typical “ex-targeted” lyrics, she rarely involves herself with girl drama, let alone writes about it.
While doing research, if scrolling on TikTok counts, I noticed a divide in opinion when people are listening to the new album. Aside from the regular controversy over whether people like the songs or not, the song “Actually Romantic” has been a hot topic of conversation, with almost 80 million streams. As my feed continued to drown in TLOAS, I started seeing more about Charli XCX, another artist rising in fame recently due to her popular summer 2024 album, Brat. Charli XCX, who had opened for one of Taylor’s tours a few years back, seems to be the subject of Swift’s ire in the song “Actually Romantic.” Many believe Taylor’s piercing lyrics like “It’s honestly wild, all the effort you’ve put in, it’s actually romantic […] no man has ever loved me like you do” are a response to Charli XCX’s song “Sympathy is a Knife,” which is reportedly about Taylor Swift.
Although all of this is theoretical, the two artists are known to have drama, ever since the two rivaling fan bases have proclaimed “Sympathy is a Knife” and “Actually Romantic” to be “diss tracks.” Neither Swift nor Charli XCX has come forward to address the rumors of their “beef”, although some would argue that the proof is in the pudding, or in this case, the lyrics.
