Overview

• Swift’s new album The Life of a Showgirl is out, and “Actually Romantic” opens with lines about someone calling her “Boring Barbie,” celebrating an ex who “ghosted” her, and having “wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face.”
• Fans and outlets are reading the song as a reply to Charli XCX, citing Charli’s Brat track “Sympathy Is a Knife,” the title echo with “Everything Is Romantic,” and links involving Matty Healy and Charli’s husband, The 1975 drummer George Daniel.
• NME and others report there has been no confirmation from Swift or Charli about whether their songs reference each other, and Charli has not publicly responded to “Actually Romantic.”
• Charli previously said Brat contains no diss tracks and framed “Sympathy Is a Knife” as about her own anxiety, while Swift publicly praised Charli’s songwriting in 2024; the two also share history from Swift’s 2018 Reputation tour and Charli’s later clarification of her 2019 remarks.
• Unverified lyric leaks circulated on social platforms ahead of the release, fueling speculation, as Swift begins UK promotion and screens The Release Party of a Showgirl materials in cinemas from Oct. 3 to 5.