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Taylor Swift and Charli XCX Settle ‘Sympathy Is a Knife’ Discourse With the Ways of Girls
Charlie XCX has cleared the air on the ongoing controversy and defended the pop icon by calling out “toxic behavior” by fans, while Taylor Swift publicly hailed Charlie's new album.
Charlie XCX’s latest single, Sympathy Is a Knife, is at the center of a brewing controversy and fan-fueled debates, with Swifties claiming the track disses the Cruel Summer songstress. There have been no signs of discord between the pop icons, whose relationship dates back to 2015 when Charlie XCX made a surprise appearance on Taylor Swift’s 1989 tour.
At the time, Charlie and Swift were both dating members of the pop-rock band, 1975. Charlie, who is now engaged to 1975 drummer George Daniel, sings about her insecurities and anxiety about another woman in Sympathy Is a Knife, the third track on her brand-new sixth studio album, Brat.
"Don't wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend's show / Fingers crossed behind my back / I hope they break up quick,” the lyrics for the track read, causing a social media frenzy about a perceived discord between Charlie and the Grammy winner. The lyrics seemingly hint at Taylor Swift and her former flame and 1975 vocalist, Matty Healy, when the ex-couple used to hang out backstage at 1975 shows in 2015.
The beef seemingly heightened after Taylor Swift released last-minute UK-only versions of her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, to reportedly limit Brat’s rise to the top of the music charts, per BuzzFeed.
However, the Apple singer, 32, has cleared the air on the ongoing controversy and defended the pop icon by calling out “toxic behavior” by fans during her Saturday show in Brazil, per Deadline. She debunked rumors about her latest single being a “diss track.”
“Can the people who do this please stop? Online or at my shows,” Charlie XCX later wrote on her Instagram story. Likewise, she opened up about the issue in a new interview with Vulture, where she explained the sole purpose of her song, Sympathy Is A Knife.
"People are gonna think what they want to think,” the singer-songwriter said before adding that the track is about her feelings and the “narratives” in her head that make her feel insecure and self-doubt. “I couldn’t even be her if I tried,” another lyric from the track suggests.
Speaking of the particular segment that caught notice on the internet, Charlie XCX didn’t mind the awkward silence that followed when she resorted to a one-word reply. “No,” she said when asked if she wanted to skip the lyric in the song.
While the lyric appears to be a direct insinuation for Taylor Swift’s constant presence at the rock band’s shows, Charlie barely added context. Instead, she told the outlet, “You do the silence game. But I know that well—where you go silent and want me to talk more. But I don’t care about it being awkward."
Simultaneously, Taylor Swift broke her silence on the sensational feud in a New York Magazine interview, warranting an end to the escalating rift. The pop mogul sang high praises for Charlie XCX’s lyrical artistry and said she was “blown away” by the singer’s “melodic sensibilities.” Swift called her writing “surreal and inventive” while lauding the immense hard work Charlie has been consistently doing for a decade.
Previously, Charlie XCX opened for the Lover musician on her 2018 Reputation tour and has expressed gratitude for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Her comparison of her 18+ audience to that of Swift’s young fanbase, however, had caused friction at the time.
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