Signs The Feud Between Taylor Swift And Olivia Rodrigo Was Never Serious
Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo's presence at the 2024 Grammys cleared up the longstanding rumor about them not being on good terms. Before their supposed feud began, the two singers appeared to have nothing but love for each other. Long before her explosive entry into the music industry, Rodrigo made it abundantly clear that Swift was a huge inspiration for her. The "Blank Space" songstress has always supported newer artists, particularly fellow women, and Rodrigo was no exception.
In a March 2021 SiriusXM interview, the "Vampire" singer revealed that Swift had sent her a ring similar to the one she donned on the cover of "Red (Taylor's Version)" along with a heartfelt note. However, things started to go downhill after Rodrigo released her debut album, "Sour," in 2021. Just a day before it hit shelves, she gave Swift and her longtime collaborator, Jack Antonoff, songwriting credits on "1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back" because it extrapolated their "New Year's Day." Swift and her songwriting team later earned another credit for "Déjà Vu" because of its similarities to "Cruel Summer."
Though that might not seem like a big deal, Rodrigo ultimately had to shell out millions in royalties as a result. Speaking to TIME in December 2021, the "Drivers License" hitmaker admitted that she wasn't too happy about how her inspirations for "Sour" created comparisons to other successful women. "I'm the 'new this' or 'this woman meets that woman,' and that can be reductive," she asserted. "I'm just Olivia. I'm doing my own thing." Since then, Rodrigo has stealthily dodged any questions about Swift.
They supported each other at the 2024 Grammys
Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift's relationship definitely wasn't strained at the 2024 Grammys. Although we weren't blessed with a shot of them interacting, they publicly supported each other. When Rodrigo took to the stage to perform her smash hit "Vampire," many audience members silently vibed to the track but Swift stood up through the entire thing and enthusiastically sang along, according to a video shared by Variety to X, formerly known as Twitter. And, when Rodrigo's performance concluded, she received a standing ovation from Swift too.
In another video, Rodrigo blew a kiss to someone in the audience, and some mistakenly believed it was directed at the "Lavender Haze" singer. But others quickly pointed out that Rodrigo was actually showing some love to her mom, who was later seen returning the kiss from the front row. The "Good 4 U" hitmaker also got up on her feet to support Swift after she bagged the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. And, in another clip posted to X, Rodrigo was spotted cheering Swift on after "Midnights" won the coveted Album of The Year award.
What makes the moment even sweeter is that Rodrigo was nominated in both categories herself but remained happy about Swift's victory. Fans were equally pleased that the two singers had cleared the air in such a subtle but effective fashion. Many tweeted that there was no dispute to begin with, and social media denizens had created one by looking into things too deeply. Others opted to use the videos whenever their supposed beef was brought up in an argument.
Olivia Rodrigo clarified they weren't ever feuding
Although most people only accepted that Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift weren't feuding after watching them at the 2024 Grammys, the "Traitor" singer cleared things up a while back. When the interviewer brought up their supposed beef in Rodrigo's 2023 Rolling Stone cover interview, she reasoned, "I don't have beef with anyone." The Disney star continued. "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." She also pointed out how the Internet was full of nonsensical conspiracy theories, and her rivalry with Swift seemed to be one of them.
A few months before the interview, Rodrigo dropped "Vampire," her lead single from "Guts" and many believed that the track was about her problems with her former idol. While speaking to The Guardian, Rodrigo confessed that she didn't quite understand how people reached that conclusion but remained vague about the real meaning behind "Vampire" because she didn't want to reduce it to a specific thing.
Some have suggested that there wasn't an issue between the two hitmakers, but rather Rodrigo distanced herself from Swift because she wanted to be known for her music and not for her inspirations. After all, interviewers frequently brought up Swift in chats about Rodrigo's growing career, and it sometimes stole the spotlight from her artistry. So, when the singer-songwriter later chose to shut the topic down altogether with vaguer answers, it forced them to focus on her work and for fans to believe they had bad blood. Clearly, though, that was never really the case.