Taylor Swift has released a new song, 'Actually Romantic', widely interpreted as a response to Charli XCX's track 'Sympathy Is a Knife' from her 2024 album Brat. In the song, Swift addresses perceived slights from Charli, including lines about being called 'boring Barbie' and being compared to a 'toy chihuahua'. Critics have described the move as a 'graceless response' that misses an opportunity for growth.
Charli's original song expressed anxiety about Swift during the latter's brief relationship with Matty Healy in 2023, focusing on Charli's own insecurities rather than outright hostility. Swift's retort, which includes references to Charli's alleged drug use and a 'high-five' to a mutual ex, has been labelled as 'punching down' by reviewers, given Swift's status as one of the world's biggest pop stars.
The timing of Swift's response has also drawn scrutiny. In June 2024, Swift released exclusive UK deluxe editions of her album The Tortured Poets Department, which many saw as an attempt to block Brat from reaching number one. This pattern of behaviour, previously observed with Billie Eilish, has been criticised as petty and vindictive.
Comparisons have been drawn to Swift's 2019 single 'You Need to Calm Down', which criticised feuds between female artists. The new track has been described as lacking the emotional intelligence and self-awareness demonstrated by Charli and Lorde in their collaborative remix of 'Girl, So Confusing', which resolved their own tensions through open dialogue.
