It Seems Like Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo's "Beef" Is Squashed
The year is 2021. Olivia Rodrigo is publicly a huge Swiftie, and constantly talks about her in the press. Olivia Rodrigo releases her freshman album 'Sour' and there are two songs that she says were heavily influenced by Taylor Swift. The two songs are called 'deja vu' and '1 step forward, 3 steps back'. You can very much hear the similarities between Taylor Swift's 'New Year's Day' and Rodrigos '1 step forward, 3 steps back'.
Take a listen for yourself:
Taylor and her producer, Jack Antonoff, had been given a writing credit on the song “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back”. THEN, Variety reported that Swift had been given ANOTHER writing credit on 'Sour' after it came out. This was on her song 'deja vu', and there really is no clear answer as to whether Taylor just asked for the credit, someone on her team, or if there were any legal proceedings involved.
Then everything kind of went silent. Olivia stopped posting/talking about Taylor, and Taylor stopped talking about Olivia. A lot of people were seeing this as a feud because Olivia was SO vocal about how much she loves Taylor and then just stopped. It was very sketchy. People were beginning to believe that Olivia wanted to separate herself from Taylor, and gain success on her own. It seemed like she didn't want to be compared to Taylor anymore. “Young women are constantly compared to each other. I’m the ‘new this’ or ‘this woman meets that woman,’ and that can be reductive,” she said to Time Magazine. “I’m just Olivia. I’m doing my own thing. It’s meaningful when people recognize that.”
Then, Olivia Rodrigo released 'Vampire' and people think that the song is about Taylor Swift.
“Hate to give the satisfaction, asking how you’re doing now, How’s the castle built off people you pretend to care about?”
“But you made me look so naïve, the way you sold me for parts as you sunk your teeth into me, oh bloodsucker, famefucker, bleedin’ me dry, like a goddamn vampire.”
The TEA WAS HOT! Except, if you're into pop culture like me, you would know that this song is sooooo obviously about Zack Bia. I don't even wanna get into the whole Zack Bia stuff but basically he was an older guy that Olivia Rodrigo dated and the guy is a total douche, nightlife, DJ, loser. Taylor Swift also announced Sabrina Carpenter as her opener for her South American leg of her tour. Sabrina Carpenter dated Olivia Rodrigo's ex Joshua Bassett.
In September 2023, Rodrigo did an interview with Rolling Stone saying that there was no feud between her and Swift. “I don’t have beef with anyone,” she said. “I’m very chill. I keep to myself. I have my four friends and my mom, and that’s really the only people I talk to, ever. There’s nothing to say.” She said she wasn't super involved in the whole thing and that it was a team-on-team thing.
Fast forward to now, and Olivia Rodrigo preforms 'Vampire' at the 2024 Grammys.
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Taylor Swift was singing and dancing along. She was one of the only people standing and dancing!
Rodrigo was also filmed standing up and applauding after Taylor won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album! So it seems like the beef that may have never even been there in the first place, is squashed. I think it was probably just Taylor's team being greedy. I doubt Taylor had any involvement with the whole thing. I totally understand Olivia not wanting to be under Taylor's shadow! And Olivia is big enough to headline her own arena tours, she doesn't need to open for Taylor. I love both of these pop girlies and it was nice to see them supporting each other at the Grammys!