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THE RUNDOWN<\/strong><\/p>\n Taylor Swift\u2019s The Life of a Showgirl has many love songs<\/a> about her fianc\u00e9, Travis Kelce<\/a>\u2014and one surprising diss track<\/a> that seems to take aim at Charli XCX: \u201cActually Romantic.\u201d The song appears to be a response to Charli\u2019s 2024 Brat track rumored to be about Swift, \u201cSympathy is a knife.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cActually Romantic\u201d isn\u2019t exactly Swift\u2019s most subtle piece of songwriting. The title itself seems to be a play on of Charli\u2019s Brat track \u201cEverything is Romantic,\u201d and its lyrics reference the same subjects \u201cSympathy is a knife\u201d did. (See a full breakdown here<\/a>.) <\/p>\n But Swift tucked in a telling Easter egg that points to Charli in the track\u2019s visualizer video. In the art used, Swift lounges while holding a red apple. Charli has a viral Brat track called \u201cApple.\u201d<\/p>\n YouTube<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The two artists have over a decade of history together. In 2015, Swift brought Charli onstage to perform \u201cBoom Clap\u201d<\/a> together during her 1989 World Tour\u2019s stop in Toronto. <\/p>\n Three years later, Charli notably opened for Swift on the Reputation Tour. In 2019, Charli made headlines when she spoke to Pitchfork<\/a> about the experience: \u201cI\u2019m really grateful that [Taylor] asked me on that tour. But as an artist, it kind of felt like I was getting up on stage and waving to 5-year-olds.\u201d She added that she\u2019d no longer open for artists: \u201cI\u2019ve done so much of it, and it really cemented my status as this underdog character, which I like now. But I need to just own my own fucking shit finally.\u201d<\/p>\n As fans wondered if they were feuding, Charli clarified her remarks<\/a> were taken out of context. She meant \u201cabsolutely no shade\u201d to Swift, she wrote on X. \u201cAs I say in the article and have said many times before, I am extremely grateful to Taylor for inviting me to open for her. She\u2019s one of the biggest artists of my generation, and the Reputation Tour was one of the biggest tours in history.”<\/p>\n In 2023, Swift and Charli were both romantically involved with members of The 1975: Charli was dating her now-husband, George Daniel<\/a>, and Swift had a brief fling with Matty Healy<\/a>. <\/p>\n In Charli\u2019s \u201cSympathy is a knife,\u201d she sings about not wanting to be around someone connected to her partner\u2019s band: \u201cI don\u2019t wanna share the space \/ I don\u2019t wanna force a smile \/ This one girl taps my\u2005insecurities \/ Don\u2019t\u2005know if it\u2019s\u2005real or if I\u2019m spiraling.\u201d Later in the track, she adds, \u201cDon\u2019t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend\u2019s show \/ Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick.\u201d<\/p>\n Fans linked the track to Swift, but Charli dismissed the theories in her August 2024 New York Magazine cover story<\/a>: \u201cPeople are going to think what they want to think. 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\u2019t want to be in those situations physically when I feel self-doubt.<\/p>\n \u201cActually Romantic\u201d begins with Swift calling out the song\u2019s subject for rooting for a breakup: \u201cI heard you call me \u2018Boring Barbie\u2019 when the coke\u2019s got you brave \/ High-fived my ex and then said you\u2019re glad he ghosted me \/ Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\n![\"taylor](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/capture-d-e-cran-2025-10-03-a-11-53-37-68dff1a37da36.png?resize=980:*\" "\\"Taylor")
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