Charli XCX has fans talking after posting a mysterious five-second video from inside a music studio, just days after Taylor Swift's new album The Life of a Showgirl dropped—and stirred up rumors of a brewing feud between the two pop stars.
The clip, shared to both X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram on October 5, shows a quiet recording room with a producer at the mixing desk and a brief swell of dramatic string music. Charli, 32, offered no caption aside from a simple heart emoji.
Though short, the video sparked immediate speculation. Many believe it was a subtle response to Taylor Swift's track "Actually Romantic," which fans think might be aimed at Charli, following lyrical references that resemble details from Charli's own music and life.
According to ENews, released on October 3, Swift's song includes pointed lines like:
"I heard you call me 'Boring Barbie' when the coke's got you brave," and,
"Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face."
Charli’s one sided beef with Taylor going public only because Taylor said something back finally and basically just said girl idgaf and now everyone mad pic.twitter.com/YuW3b5wHFA
— you are in love ⚢ ミ☆ (@coochielor13) October 5, 2025
Charli's Marriage Fuels Taylor Swift Song Rumors
Listeners quickly connected this to Charli's 2024 song "Sympathy Is a Knife," in which she sings about feeling insecure around a fellow female star.
She notably shares, "Don't wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend's show... Fingers crossed behind my back / I hope they break up real quick."
The lyrics hit even closer to home, as Charli is now married to George Daniel of The 1975. Taylor Swift briefly dated the band's frontman, Matty Healy, in 2023.
While neither artist has publicly addressed the rumors, Swift did give some background on "Actually Romantic" in her Amazon Music commentary, ThePinkNews reported.
She said the song is about realizing someone "had a one-sided adversarial relationship with you" and that "you've been living in their head rent-free."
"It's presenting itself as resentment," Taylor added, "but you just accept it as love. It's actually pretty romantic if you really think about it."
Charli hasn't directly responded, but the timing of her post—her first since Swift's album release—has only added fuel to the conversation.
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