Olivia Rodrigo sets the record straight on Taylor Swift feud rumors: 'I don't have beef with anyone'
Social media speculation be damned: Olivia Rodrigo maintains that there is no bad blood between her and Taylor Swift — or her and "anyone," for that matter.
The "Vampire" singer addressed rumors of a feud brewing between her and her songwriting idol in an interview with Rolling Stone published Tuesday. The cover story is tied to the release of Rodrigo's sophomore album, "Guts," which reignited online gossip about her suspected falling-out with Swift.
“I don’t have beef with anyone,” Rodrigo said calmly, according to Rolling Stone.
“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.”
Read more: Olivia Rodrigo is 'surprised' that fans interpreted her song 'Vampire' as a dig at Taylor Swift
The theory that Rodrigo and Swift were no longer on good terms gained serious traction following the release of "Vampire," the lead single from Rodrigo's new record. Some fans were convinced that the 20-year-old musician penned the dramatic ballad about an exploitative "bloodsucker" and "fame-f—" with "Lavender Haze" singer Swift in mind.
Further fueling the speculation was Rodrigo's uncertain response when asked point-blank by the Guardian whether the song was about Swift. The singer admitted she was "very surprised" by the rumors but stopped short of outright denying them.
“I never want to say who any of my songs are about,” she told the Guardian. “I’ve never done that before in my career and probably won’t. I think it’s better to not pigeonhole a song to being about this one thing.”
Read more: Review: Olivia Rodrigo spills her 'Guts' on a bubble-gum rock masterpiece
Enter "Guts," the highly anticipated follow-up to Rodrigo's smash-hit debut album, "Sour." Fans have speculated that multiple tracks on the LP — particularly "The Grudge," which includes a lyric about someone who has "everything" and still wants more — allude to Rodrigo's alleged spat with Swift.
How did the sleuths of the internet arrive at this conclusion?
Some simply find it suspicious that Rodrigo and Swift haven't publicly interacted in a while — despite Rodrigo previously identifying Swift as one of her greatest inspirations and Swift celebrating Rodrigo's meteoric rise post-“Drivers License."
Read more: When Olivia met Taylor: Rodrigo finally meets her hero Swift at Brit Awards
Others suspect it has something to do with Rodrigo retroactively crediting Swift on her hit single "Deja Vu" after the song was compared to Swift's "Cruel Summer." It's unclear whether Swift or her team had anything to do with that belated addition.
It doesn't help that one of Swift's opening acts on her Eras tour is Sabrina Carpenter — a.k.a. the "blond girl" from "Drivers License," for whom Rodrigo's ex supposedly left her.
For the record, all of this is speculative, and neither Swift nor Rodrigo has explicitly said anything to support these hypotheses.
“There’s so many Twitter conspiracy theories," Rodrigo told Rolling Stone. "I only look at alien-conspiracy theories.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
