Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour is coming to Manila, but fans can’t stop speculating about her rumored feud with Taylor Swift.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the Philippines is big on Taylor Swift, and some fans may or may not be aware of the alleged feud between the two artists.
Filipino-American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo is set to hold her first-ever concert in Manila on October 5. By all indications, the Manila leg of Rodrigo’s tour is going to be a huge success.
Early in Olivia Rodrigo’s career, she expressed high regard for record-breaking singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. In fact, Rodrigo has identified as a Swiftie from day one.
In April 2020, Rodrigo first caught Swift’s attention with her rendition of the musical hit Cruel Summer. In an Instagram post, Olivia captioned, “TAYLOR SWIFT IS THE REASON I WRITE SONGS AND SHE POSTED ME ON HER STORY AND TOLD ME I WAS TALENTED??? WHEN IS ASHTON KUTCHER GONNA JUMP OUT OF A BUSH WITH A CAMERA CREW!!!!???!??!”
In 2021, Rodrigo’s Driver’s License blew up and put her on the charts alongside Swift, who again publicly acknowledged her success. “I say that’s my baby, and I’m really proud,” Swift commented on Rodrigo’s Instagram post.
That same year, Swift sent cardigan merch to her friends and fans, including Rodrigo, to celebrate the release of Folklore and “Cardigan” in 2020. Olivia proceeded to post some photos of herself in the cardigan on Instagram, captioned, “Me standing in my cardigan that you put on and said was your favorite. Folklore is rearranging the neurons in my brain.” She also said, “Never taking this off” in a story.
Obviously, they were tight. So why do fans think their relationship has turned sour? It may or may not be a coincidence that the Instagram posts mentioned above are now nowhere to be found on Rodrigo’s account, but let’s not jump to conclusions.
It’s important to understand the timeline of the release dates for Rodrigo’s debut album Sour and its single Déjà Vu, as well as 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back.
In April 2021, Rodrigo released her breakout hit Déjà Vu, which quickly gained attention and became a massive success. A month later, she launched her debut album, Sour. At the time, both pop sensations continued to support each other, with Swift giving Rodrigo permission to interpolate her song New Year’s Day.
Rodrigo wrote in her thank-you list on the album, “Thank you to Taylor and Jack Antonoff for graciously letting me use their masterpiece New Year’s Day. The songs they’ve crafted together are my favorite songs of all time.”
So, they must have been on good terms, right? However, speculation began circulating on social media when Billboard reported that Swift, along with songwriter and producer Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent, were given songwriting credits for Déjà Vu retroactively, a month after its release.
Some fans wondered if Rodrigo had faced copyright disputes, which isn’t uncommon in the music industry. They also noted that Swift gaining 50% of the songwriting credit (and its profits) for just one part of the song left a bad taste.
However, Rodrigo explained the inspiration she drew from Swift: “I love Cruel Summer. That’s one of my favorite songs ever. I love the yell-y vocals in it, the harmonized yells she does. I feel like they’re super electric and moving, so I wanted to do something like that.”
Still, many obsessive fans couldn’t help but notice that Rodrigo hasn’t mentioned Swift since then, despite their once mother-daughter-like relationship. Some even pointed out that Rodrigo only provides standard PR responses regarding the alleged feud. In one interview, she said, “I don’t have beef with anyone. 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.”
When asked about the songwriting credit issue, she said, “Writing songs about how I feel has always been easy and fun for me, and I think the business side of music has been something I’ve had a harder time learning. I’ve been sort of growing through that this year, but I’ve just been trying to remember that I write songs because I love them. I feel lucky I get to do that and be a songwriter and performer for a living… at the end of the day, I feel it doesn’t have too much to do with me.”
“I think it’s disappointing to see people take things out of context and discredit any young woman’s work. But at the end of the day, I’m just really proud and happy to say that my job is being a songwriter…all music is inspired by each other. Obviously, I write all of my lyrics from my heart and my life first. I came up with the lyrics and the melody for ‘Good 4 U’ one morning in the shower,” she added.
In June 2023, Rodrigo released the lead single from her GUTS album, Vampire, which was another massive success. Fans took to social media to speculate that certain parts of the lyrics were about Swift:
I’ve made some real big mistakes
But you make the worst one look fine
I should’ve known it was strange
You only come out at night
I used to think I was smart
But you’ve made me look so naive
The way you sold me for parts
As you sunk your teeth into me, oh
Bloodsucker, fame f*cker
Bleedin’ me dry, like a g*ddamn vampire
In an interview, Rodrigo addressed the rumors: “I mean, I never want to say who any of my songs are about. 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… I was very surprised when people thought that.”
In the same year, Rodrigo was again asked about the Sour songwriting credits, which also included Paramore for “Good 4 U.”
“I was a little caught off guard,” she said. “At the time, it was very confusing, and I was green and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Is that the phrase? It’s not something I was super involved in. It was more team-on-team. So, I wouldn’t be the best person to ask.”
It remains unclear whether Rodrigo was forced to give the songwriting credits.
Yet, another one of Rodrigo’s songs, The Grudge, was rumored to be about Swift.
I have nightmares each week ’bout that Friday in May
One phone call from you and my entire world was changed
Trust that you betrayed, confusion that still lingers
Took everything I loved and crushed it in between your fingers
And I doubt you ever think about the damage that you did
But I hold onto every detail like my life depends on it
My undying love, now I hold it like a grudge
And I hear your voice every time that I think I’m not enough
Throughout this timeline, one detail keen-eyed fans didn’t miss is that Sabrina Carpenter performed as the opening act on The Eras Tour. It’s important to know that the former Disney star and singer-songwriter (known for hits like Please Please Please and Espresso) is rumored to be “that blonde girl” in Rodrigo’s song Driver’s License, which is about her ex-boyfriend Joshua Bassett.
And in case you’re wondering—no, Rodrigo did not attend any of The Eras Tour shows. In July 2023, she told The Times, “I haven’t yet. I’m going to Europe this week.”
However, almost everything said about the alleged feud has been purely speculative. Fans of these talented female artists would likely be more interested in moments showing that the two still support each other.
For instance, a short clip from the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards showed Swift clapping and cheering when Rodrigo was announced. Earlier in 2024, Swift was spotted singing along to Vampire during Rodrigo’s performance at the Grammy Awards, a song rumored to be about her. In the same event, Rodrigo was seen cheering and clapping for Swift.
Meanwhile, Filipino fans—Swifties included—are thrilled about the GUTS World Tour and are eagerly speculating about any potential special guests.
Chappell Roan and Olivia Rodrigo shared the stage in a stunning performance at the 2024 GUTS World Tour in Los Angeles, California.
The show is expected to feature:
- Vampire
- Bad Idea Right?
- Get Him Back!
- Lacy
- All-American Bitch
- F.U. Boyfriend
- Logical
- The Greatest Bastard
- Pretty Isn’t Pretty
- Love Is Embarrassing
- Teenage Dream
- Happier Than Ever (cover)
- Brutal (cover)
So far, The Breeders, Chappell Roan, PinkPantheress, and Remi Wolf have opened for the tour in other countries.
