Ever since Olivia Rodrigo released her hit track “Vampire” back in July fans have been convinced that it was written about Taylor Swift amidst their rumoured feud. Now, Olivia wants to set the record straight. Well, sort of.
In an interview with The Guardian, the “Driver’s License” singer was asked point blank about whether she wrote the song about Taylor.
“How do I answer this?” she asked the reporter.
“I mean, I never want to say who any of my songs are about. I’ve never done that before in my career and probably won’t. I think it’s better to not pigeonhole a song to being about this one thing.
“I was very surprised when people thought that.”
Mysterious, very mysterious.
For some context, the song includes a bunch of lines that really do feel like the literary version of a slap in the face. Here are a few examples:
- “How’s the castle built off people you pretend to care about?
- “You made me look so naive the way you sold me for parts.
And here’s the kicker!!!
- “Bloodsucker, famefucker, bleedin’ me dry like a goddamn vampire.”
Ouchie mama they are some spicy lyrics. I wouldn’t want that written about me, TBH. But the reason that fans think they’re about Taylor is because the pair used to have a kind of mentor-grasshopper relationship and then it all kind of turned to shit.
Taylor and Olivia first connected in 2020 when Olivia performed Taylor’s tune, “Cruel Summer” on MTV’s Alone Together Jam Session during lockdown. Taylor caught wind of the performance and shared it on her IG stories writing, “THE TALENT. Love This!! Thanks for this beautiful performance @olivia.rodrigo @mtv.”
Then in 2021, when “Drivers License” was climbing up the charts, Olivia posted about how stoked she was that her tune was sitting under two tracks by her idol, Taylor Swift, on the US iTunes charts. Taylor commented: “I say that’s my baby and I’m really proud.”
CUTE. That must have been like a dream come true.
The pair eventually met in May 2021 at the BRIT Awards and looked like they were having a fab time.
But speculation that the two pop girlies were fighting kicked off in 2021 after Olivia released her debut album SOUR and fans noticed similarities between her song “Deja Vu” and “Cruel Summer”.
It was so well known that Olivia was such a huge fan of Taylor’s work and apparently, she’d done an interpolation of Taylor’s track. This means that part of the song was rerecorded and turned into something new.
As a result, the young pop star gave Taylor and other artists involved in the recording, 50 per cent of the royalties and credits for the song.
“I was so green as to how the music industry worked, the litigious side,” she told The Guardian.
“I feel like now I know so much more about the industry and I just feel better equipped in that regard. It wasn’t something I thought about too much.”
After this whole debacle, fans started to notice that the formerly huge Swiftie wasn’t posting about Taylor anymore. Not even when she released Red (Taylor’s Version). So naturally, whispers of a feud began.
Then back in June, the whispers picked up momentum when Taylor announced that Sabrina Carpenter would be opening for her on the international leg of The Eras Tour.
The reason this is tea is because Olivia and Sabrina allegedly have some serious BEEF. In fact, it’s widely believed that Sabrina is the “blonde girl” referred to in “Drivers License” after there was a love triangle between Sabrina, Olivia, and their Disney co-star Joshua Bassett.
OOOOH BOY.
If that wasn’t enough, Sabrina’s track “Skin” is meant to be a response to Olivia’s tune. And honestly, I believe with my whole heart that it’s all true.
I mean come on, here are the lyrics: “There’s no gravity in the words we write. Maybe you didn’t mean it. Maybe blonde was the only rhyme.”
So now, knowing how Taylor feels about karma, fans think she deliberately added Sabrina to open for her.
It’s all juicy hearsay, now isn’t it?
