After years of complicated speculation, Olivia Rodrigo slammed “Twitter conspiracy theories” as she denied feud rumours with Taylor Swift.
Although the two singers have praised each other’s chart-topping work in interviews and on social media, fans were convinced there were some underlying feelings.
Brows were raised in May 2021, after Olivia released her debut studio album, Sour and fans noticed Taylor and Jack Antonoff were credited on the song, 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back.
During an appearance on The Zach Sang Show, the 20-year-old explained: “We interpolated New Year’s Day, which is Taylor’s song from Reputation. I came up with the 1 Step Forward concept and I sort of wrote a verse and a chorus.”
In an interview with Teen Vogue, Olivia elaborated: “I think they’re really beautiful chords. I was lucky enough to get that approved, and it’s on the record now.”
The singer couldn’t escape the comparisons as two months later Taylor and close collaborator Jack were also credited on Olivia’s Deja Vu.
This came as a result of the song’s suspected similarity to Taylor’s hit Cruel Summer.
This sparked a snowball effect as fans compared Good 4 U to Paramore’s 2007 Misery Business, leading the band’s Hayley Williams and Josh Farro to also gain credits on the album.
According to Billboard, this resulted in a loss of millions of dollars with 50% of royalties going to other songwriters.
Olivia cryptically addressed the controversy in October 2021, as she told Teen Vogue: “I just feel like sometimes there’s so much noise and criticism and weird things going on in the world.
“I hope people know that, deep down, all that I do is write songs and talk about how I feel, and that’s the most important thing to me. Everything else, I think, is not so important.
“A hard thing for me to grapple with when this whole thing started happening is just, anyone can say anything.”
As this sparked uproar among fans, feud rumors ignited in June 2023 when Olivia revealed writing her song, Vampire “helped me sort through lots of feelings of regret, anger, and heartache.”
As listeners were certain the songstress was talking about Taylor, Olivia shut down the speculation and insisted: “I don’t have beef with anyone.”
She explained: “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… There’s so many Twitter conspiracy theories,” adding to Rolling Stones: “I only look at alien conspiracy theories.”
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