NEWSCharli XCX Posts Cryptic Video After Taylor Swift's 'Actually Romantic' Diss
Singer Charli XCX seemingly responded with a cryptic video after fans speculated she was dissed on Taylor Swift’s new album, 'The Life of a Showgirl.'
Oct. 7 2025, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
Charli XCX seemingly responded after fans speculated she was dissed on Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl.
The “Brat” artist (real name: Charlotte Aitchison), 33, sent a message by sharing a video of herself inside a recording studio via X on Sunday, October 5, where an engineer could be seen seated in front of a mixing board.
Charli XCX Shared a Cryptic Video
Charli XCX shared a cryptic video after seemingly being dissed on Taylor Swift's new album.
“<3,” she simply captioned the post, giving fans no other clues. The five-second video clip opened with layered instruments that built to a slow swell before ending with two sharp notes played in quick succession.
Fans believe the cryptic video was a response to a diss from Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, which was released on October 3. As fans listened to the album, many quickly interpreted the track “Actually Romantic” as a response to Charli's song “Sympathy is a Knife” from her 2024 album brat.
Charli XCX's Husband is Close With Taylor Swift's Ex
Charli XCX is married to George Michael, who is bandmates with Taylor Swift's ex Matt Healy.
“I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave,” Swift, 35, sings during the track. “High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me / Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face.”
Swift and Charli have a long history together, with the latter initially serving as an opening act on her Reputation Stadium tour in 2018. Charli's track “Sympathy is a Knife” is believed to reference Swift’s brief romance with The 1975 lead singer, Matty Healy. More notably, Charli is married to Healy’s bandmate George Michael.
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Fans Believed Charli XCX Dissed Taylor Swift in 2024
Fans believed Charli XCX dissed Taylor Swift on her 'Brat' album.
“Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show,” Charli sings on the tune. “Fingers crossed behind my back / I hope they break up real quick.”
The “Love Story” singer addressed the creation of the song after the album's release during Amazon Music’s “Track by Track Version” of The Life of a Showgirl.
Taylor Swift Addressed Creation of 'Actually Romantic'
Taylor Swift addressed the creation process of 'Actually Romantic.'
“'Actually Romantic' is a song about realizing that someone else has kind of had a one-sided adversarial relationship with you that you didn't know about,” Swift recounted. “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.”
“How flattering that someone has made you such a big part of their reality and you didn't even think about this,” Swift continued. “It's actually pretty romantic if you really, really think about it.”
