Two years since the drama, what are Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter up to?

Cast your mind back to early 2021. Olivia Rodrigo had just dropped Drivers License, Sabrina Carpenter responded with Skin and Joshua Bassett dropped Lie Lie Lie, and nobody knew who to believe.

Every social media platform was rife with theories about who the songs were about, deciphering each lyric to see what it really meant. People began sending threats to all those they thought were involved and when Olivia dropped SOUR, the rumours only began to spread even more.

It’s been two years since the whole debacle happened and it seems as though everyone has moved on, released new music and got on with their lives. In case you really want to know what they’ve all been up to, here’s what Joshua Bassett, Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter are all doing now.

Joshua Bassett

Joshua Bassett was at the centre of controversy when Olivia dropped Drivers License, mainly because the song was obviously about him. Although Olivia never publicly confirmed if the song was about anyone, Joshua said the stress that came with the reaction to the strong left him feeling “worse and worse” everyday.

In an interview with People, Joshua said: “I was sleeping 16 to 20 hours a day. I couldn’t even stand up for longer than 30 seconds. I felt my heart literally failing. I was like, ‘This isn’t just anxiety. This is bad.'”

A little after Olivia’s debut album was released, Joshua released his EP Crisis / Secret / Set Me Free and it only stirred up even more drama. Since then, Joshua Bassett has announced he is going on tour in March 2023. The complicated tour will start in San Francisco and end in London in May.

Joshua recently made headlines after he was baptised at Bethel Church, which has a number of alleged controversial policies. In a video, Joshua said: “My name is Joshua Bassett. Long story short, I grew up Christian and I ran the other way, as far as I could go, in pursuit of the ‘truth’. That only ended in addiction, depression, suicidal ideation, eating disorders et cetera. No other teacher gave me anywhere near the peace that Jesus Christ did. I’m here to publicly declare him as my lord and saviour.”

In response to some fans’ concerns about the church, Joshua said: “I visited this church and happened to get baptised here. I was unaware of some of their policies and beliefs, and do not endorse all of them. My heart is for Christ and Christ alone.”

Sabrina Carpenter

Sabrina Carpenter became embroiled in the Drivers License drama when fans assumed she was the blonde that Olivia spoke about in the song. Sabrina and Joshua never officially confirmed their relationship but it was widely assumed they were together after they posted a series of TikToks together.

Two weeks after Olivia released Drivers License, Sabrina released Skin which somewhat addresses the drama. At the start of the song, Sabrina sings: “Maybe you didn’t mean it. Maybe blonde was the only rhyme,” and alter on she sings: “Don’t drive yourself insane. It won’t always be this way.”

In a now-deleted Instagram post, Sabrina addressed the drama and said the song wasn’t “calling out one single person” but some of the lines “address a specific situation, while other lines address plenty of other experiences I’ve had this past year.”

Since the drama, Sabrina has released an album called emails I can’t send and went on a sold out US tour. She has since announced UK and EU tour which will start in Dublin in June 2023 and end in Berlin.

Twitter users have become obsessed with Sabrina’s fashion sense and it makes sense because she is always dripped out from head to toe. Sabrina was also recently at the Grammy Awards and a photo of her with Taylor Swift at the after-party has gone viral.

Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Rodrigo had major success after she released Drivers License and her subsequent album SOUR. Drivers License became the longest-running number one in 15 years in 2021 at just 18 years old. Iconic much?

Since her SOUR days, Olivia has performed at the MTV Video Music Awards, the Brit Awards and Glastonbury. In 2022, Olivia won three Grammys for best new artist, best pop vocal album and best pop solo performance for Drivers License. In the summer of 2022, Olivia also performed at Glastonbury Festival and famously sang a duet with Lily Allen and called out the US Supreme Court.

Like Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia also went on tour for her SOUR album and toured across the US, UK and Europe. Olivia has constantly been in her bag since SOUR dropped and she has gone on to become the face of Glossier.

In a message to her fans for Spotify Wrapped 2022, Olivia confirmed new music is on the way in 2023. In the video, she said: “Hey, it’s Olivia, I just wanted to say thank you so much for listening to my music this year. I really, truly couldn’t be more grateful. I’m so excited for next year and all of the new things and new music that 2023 will bring, so I’m sending so much love your way and thank you again!”

In a video at the beginning of 2023, Olivia teased that new music was on the way. In a video posted to her Instagram story, Olivia said: “Working on so many new songs I’m excited to show you!”

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Featured image credit via Instagram @joshuatbassett, @sabrinacarpenter and @oliviarodrigo.