Overview
- Charli XCX posted a five‑second studio video captioned "<3," her first public update since the album’s release, offering no direct comment on the speculation.
- Listeners widely read “Actually Romantic” as referencing Charli XCX, citing opening lyrics about a “Boring Barbie” insult, celebrating an ex who ghosted her, and a song that is “sick to see my face,” with context pointing to The 1975 connections.
- In a recorded Amazon Music intro, Swift says the track is about realizing someone holds a one‑sided adversarial relationship with you and choosing to interpret that attention as affection.
- Charli has previously said her 2024 song “Sympathy Is a Knife” reflects her own anxiety rather than targeting another artist.
- Social‑media reaction has included accusations that Swift is “punching down” or bullying, though neither artist has explicitly named the other in this dispute.