Ok, so here’s everything we know about Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift’s historical beef

Is It Over Now then?

9 months ago

Clara Hill | News

When Olivia Rodrigo left the Disney Channel behind to become a main pop girlie, she was full of praise for Taylor Swift. She told Apple Music’s The Travis Mills Show that Taylor was her “biggest idol and biggest songwriting inspiration,” adding that “to have her blessing was really, really special.”

When her debut single, Driver’s License, reached the top of the charts, beating Taylor, Olivia took to Instagram to say that she was a “puddle of tears”. Taylor responded, calling Olivia her “baby” and saying she was “really proud”. However, if you saw them interacting like this now, or even at all, it would be a huge deal. Why? Where did it all go wrong? Where did the speculated rift in the relationship take place? Why hasn’t Olivia been to The Eras Tour? What is going on? Here is everything we know about the alleged feud between Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift, which is based on both facts silly and serious.

They first spoke on social media

Olivia posted her cover of Cruel Summer from Taylor’s 2019 album Lover on X. After it had been brought to her attention, Taylor praised her, replying, “The talent. Love this.”

The love fest between Taylor and Olivia is seen to rage on

It reached a mania when Olivia released the cover for her debut album Sour and could be seen wearing a gifted ring from Taylor. She then told Zane Lowe on Apple Music how much she saw herself in Taylor and her work.

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A post shared by Olivia Rodrigo (@oliviarodrigo)

Olivia gave a writing credit to Taylor

A day before the release of her LP, Billboard reported that Taylor had been given a writing credit on Olivia’s song, 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back. Upfront about the reason, Olivia told the magazine that she had “interpolated” Taylor’s song New Year’s Day. For those unaware, interpolation is when you re-record one part of a song, like the chords or the refrain, and then include it in another tune. Technically, it differs from doing a sample, where you work with the original recording. If you went by Olivia’s word, Taylor had been A-OK with this and knew all about it.

Taylor is given more credits on Sour

Two months later, in July, Variety reported that Taylor was being credited on more of Olivia’s songs. This time, it was for Olivia’s song Deju Vu, which apparently shared a lot in common with Cruel Summer. The nod, which was also given to her long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff and St Vincent, was a non-collaborative one. This means Taylor did not provide vocals or knowingly do anything for the song. This one is where it gets unclear. It is not known if Taylor asked for the acknowledgement or if there was some legal pressure applied from a relevant party.

In April 2021, Olivia told Rolling Stone that the song was counted as one of her “favourite songs ever,” adding of beloved album track “I love the yell-y vocal in it, the harmonized yells she does. I feel like they’re super electric and moving, so I wanted to do something like that.”

Another high-profile musical act got added to the album in mysterious circumstances

That August, she also gave out credit for her song Good 4 U, but not to Taylor. This time it was to Hayley Williams and Josh Farro, who are the leader, singer and ex-guitarist of Paramore. According to Variety, there was doubt about whether this had always been in place or whether it was doled out afterwards to rectify anything. Vis a vis royalties, the trade magazine estimates that millions have been paid to all those involved in this credit drama.

Olivia called comparisons to Taylor a way to ‘discredit’ her work

By December 2021, Olivia was getting annoyed with being compared to Taylor, telling Time magazine that it was “frustrating” to see it still when she was named Entertainer of the Year.

People suggest that Olivia’s new ballad is about Taylor

The rumours of their fall-out only grew in June last year when she released the emosh ballad Vampire, about someone who took her for everything but should’ve known better because they were older. Many believed it was about her ex Adam Faze but some were convinced it was about Taylor.

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A post shared by Olivia Rodrigo (@oliviarodrigo)

Taylor is considered to shade Olivia, with who she books as the next The Eras tour openers

Taylor named Sabrina Carpenter as the opening act for the Latin American, Asian and Australian legs of The Eras Tour. Sabrina is widely considered to be the other woman that Olivia is singing about on much of her first album. Joshua Bassett moved on to Sabrina after dating Olivia, whom she met on the set of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The European opener for Taylor was also announced to be Paramore. Olivia revealed she hadn’t been while talking to the New York Times.

Olivia denied again having any problem with Taylor

In September last year, Olivia told Rolling Stone that she didn’t “have beef with anyone” before adding, “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.”

Olivia also explained to the Guardian that she was “very surprised” to hear people thinking that Vampire was about Taylor. With the release of her sophomore album that month, many believe it contained references to their fallout.

Taylor gave Olivia a standing ovation at the Grammys

Earlier this month, Olivia treated the audience to a rendition of Vampire and was met with rapturous applause. One of the people on their feet was Taylor.