Soooo, Taylor Swift’s “Actually Romantic” is most definitely not a love song about her now-fiancé, Travis Kelce. In fact, it’s a pretty scathing diss track… seemingly about a woman. It’s giving “Bad Blood,” “thanK you aIMee,” etc. Between this song and the Tate McRae/Kid Laroi musical showdown, pop beef is officially back, folks.

In the new Life of a Showgirl track, Taylor quips that it’s “actually romantic” how much time her opp devotes to her. And, um, there are some pretty clear hints about the subject of the song — fans are already convinced that “Actually Romantic” was inspired by the BRAT queen herself, Charli XCX. (You may recall that Charli’s “Sympathy Is a Knife” is rumored to be about Taylor.)

Is Taylor Swift’s “Actually Romantic” really about Charli XCX? Is it a response to “Sympathy Is a Knife”? Let’s break down these very interesting lyrics.

Is Taylor Swift’s “Actually Romantic” About Charli XCX? Lyrics Breakdown

Taylor Swift And Charli XCX Rumored Beef Explained

In the first verse, Taylor sings: “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave / High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me / Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face.”

Why do fans think these lyrics are about Charli? Well, for starters, the pop icon’s openly referenced cocaine in her music before. In her single “365,” she sings: “Should we do a little key? Should we have a little line?” Not to mention, she made a plastic bag (a pointed reference to drug use) the image of her BRAT tour poster.

Charli’s also good friends with Taylor’s ex, Matty Healy — he was the DJ at Charli and George Daniel’s wedding earlier this month. And yes, she allegedly wrote “Sympathy Is a Knife” about Taylor.

In “Sympathy Is a Knife,” Charli gets vulnerable about a girl who makes her feel insecure. “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick,” she says. Since Charli’s partner, George Daniel, and Taylor’s ex, Matty Healy, are bandmates, it’s likely Taylor and Charli saw each other backstage several times.

Back to “Actually Romantic”: later in the song, Taylor teases, “No man has ever loved me like you do.” In the bridge, she even says this person’s mean behavior/fixation on her is “kinda making me wet.” (If you told me 10 or 15 years ago that that was a real Taylor lyric, I would’ve laughed.)

If this song really is a Charli diss, it’s pretty shocking considering what Taylor said about her just a year ago. In an October 2024 interview with New York Magazine, she gushed: “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.”

Either things have really changed since then or fans are totally off with this theory.