Olivia Rodrigo has shut down the rumours that she’s been feuding with Taylor Swift.
The singer, 20, addressed the ongoing speculation during an interview with Rolling Stone, as she appeared on the cover of the magazine’s newest issue. Her comments also came weeks after fans first believed that her newest song, “Vampire” was about her rumoured feud with Swift.
However, when asked about the alleged feud during the Rolling Stone interview, Rodrigo didn’t hesitate to shut down the speculation. She also subtly hit back at some of the rumours that have been spread about her online.
“I don’t have beef with anyone,” she said. “I’m very chill. I keep to myself. I have my four friends and my mom, and that’s really the only people I talk to, ever. There’s nothing to say.”
She added: “There’s so many Twitter conspiracy theories. I only look at alien conspiracy theories.”
Leading up to the release of her first album, Sour, Rodrigo had spoken openly about how much she admired Swift. Following the release of “Drivers License” in January 2021, she shared a photo of the track’s ranking on iTunes and wrote: “Next to Taylor on the US iTunes chart, I’m in a puddle of tears.”
She later went to TikTok to share her overjoyed reaction to Swift commenting on her post: “I say that’s my baby and I’m really proud.” Months later, the pair had the opportunity to meet in person, while attending the BRIT Awards.
However, rumours of their feud went on to spark later that year, after Rodrigo gave Swift and Jack Antonoff – who is a longtime collaborator with the 33-year-old Swift – writing credits for a track on Sour, “Deja Vu,” as it had interpolated ( meaning the re-recording of a melody instead of sampling) Swift’s “Cruel Summer”. Rodrigo also gave the pair writing credits for “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back,” since the tune interpolated Swift’s “New Year’s Day”.
During the Rolling Stone interview, she was asked how she felt about the writing credits, which she also gave to Hayley Williams for Sour’s, “Good 4 U,” after fans spotted that the tune sounded similar to Paramore’s “Misery Business”.
Olivia Rodrigo— (Getty Images for SiriusXM)
“I was a little caught off guard,” she said. “At the time it was very confusing, and I was green and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Is that the phrase?
“It’s not something that I was super involved in,” she continued, referring to the process of giving the song-writing credits. “It was more team-on-team. So, I wouldn’t be the best person to ask.”
Earlier this month, Rodrigo also addressed speculation that her new song, “Vampire,” was about her feud with Swift. Since the song’s release on 30 June, fans have questioned if the line “bloodsucker, fame f***er, bleedin’ me dry like a godd*** vampire!” was about how Swift received writing credits on Rodrigo’s songs.
While addressing the initial question about whether Swift was the subject of “Vampire”, during an interview with The Guardian, Rodrigo replied: “How do I answer this? 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,” she said. “I was very surprised when people thought that.”
This also wasn’t the first time Rodrigo has addressed the speculation around the song’s subject. In July, she jokingly posted a video of herself with a TikTok comedian Jake Shane sipping on bright blood-coloured drink out of a fake hospital “Type A” blood bag.
In the caption, she sarcastically wrote: “For everyone asking… ‘Vampire’ is about @Jake Shane.”
