Taylor Swift released her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, on October 3, 2025. Her track Actually Romantic immediately drew attention because listeners linked it to Charli XCX’s 2024 song Sympathy Is a Knife from the album Brat. Charli’s song had already been speculated to reference Swift, though Charli denied this, saying it reflects her own insecurities. Swift described Actually Romantic as about realizing someone had held a one-sided adversarial fixation on her.
Background and earlier tension
Charli XCX’s “Sympathy Is a Knife” portrays jealousy and emotional unease, mentioning a woman backstage and hoping for a breakup. Some listeners thought this hinted at Swift, especially because of overlaps in their social circles. The lyrics read, “This one girl taps my insecurities / Don’t know if it’s real or if I’m spiraling.”
“Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back / I hope they break up quick,” refering to, now-husband George Daniel and his 1975 bandmate, Matty Healy who was rumored to be dating Taylor Swift at the time.
Lyrical cues in Actually Romantic
Swift’s lyrics open with lines about someone calling her names, high-fiving her ex, and writing a song about her. The song reads, “High-fived my ex and then said you’re glad he ghosted me / Wrote me a song sayin’ it makes you sick to see my face / Some people might be offended.”
“But it’s actually sweet / All the time you’ve spent on me. It’s honestly wild / All the effort you’ve put in / It’s actually romantic / I really gotta hand it to you / No man has ever loved me like you do.”
What Taylor Swift said about Actually Romantic
After “Actually Romantic” dropped, Charli posted a short studio video with a heart emoji, prompting speculation she might respond musically. She has not confirmed this.
Meanwhile, Taylor explained the meaning behind the song in the Amazon Music introduction of Actually Romantic. She said, “(Actually romantic) a song about realizing that someone else has kind of had a one-sided, adversarial relationship with you that you didn’t know about.”
“And all of a sudden they start doing too much and they start letting you know that actually, you’ve been living in their head rent-free and you had no idea,” she said. However, Swift did not mention Charli’s name while explaining the meaning behind the song.
FAQs:
Q: Is Actually Romantic confirmed as a diss at Charli XCX?
A: No. Taylor explained the theme but did not mention Charli by name.
Q: Did Charli admit Sympathy Is a Knife is about Taylor?
A: No. Charli said it reflects her own feelings, not another artist.
Q: Is a Charli response track expected?
A: There is speculation due to her cryptic post, but nothing confirmed.
