Olivia Rodrigo Finally Addressed Rumored Taylor Swift Feud and “Vampire” Lyrics Theory

Olivia Rodrigo kept things extremely vague while (sort of) addressing the rumors that her single “Vampire” is about Taylor Swift.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Guardian published on Saturday, Rodrigo, 20, spoke in-depth about creating her sophomore album, Guts, which is set to release on September 8. The musician and actor was candid about the music-making process but became rather hesitant when it came to the topic of a rumored feud between her and Swift.

After the release of her first single from the forthcoming album, “Vampire,” fans speculated that the song was about Miss Swift — particularly the lyrics, “Bloodsucker, fame f*cker, bleedin’ me dry like a goddamn vampire.”

“How do I answer this?” Rodrigo said in the interview, with the article noting that she began whispering. “I mean, I never want to say who any of my songs are about.”

She continued: “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.”

Swift and Rodrigo’s budding friendship seemingly fizzled out following the release of Rodrigo’s 2021 album, Sour. While the album was a success, it was overshadowed by copyright issues from other artists including Swift, who was named as a co-writer on “Deja Vu” due to its similarities to her own hit, “Cruel Summer.” Rodrigo also handed over half of the credits and royalties for the song “Good 4 U” to Paramore after fans pointed out similarities to the band’s hit “Misery Business.

But was it just the copyright issue that Soured the relationship between Swift and Rodrigo? Fans believe the final nail in the coffin was Swift inviting Sabrina Carpenter as an opener on The Eras Tour. Carpenter is rumored to be “that blonde girl” that Rodrigo references in her song, “Driver’s License” about ex-boyfriend Joshua Bassett.

Further speculation about their tattered relationship grew after Rodrigo did not attend any of Swift’s Eras Tour shows.

Despite the “disappointing” drama surrounding credits on her first album, Rodrigo said she tried not to let it get to her when creating the second.

“I was so green as to how the music industry worked, the litigious side,” she continued. “I feel like now I know so much more about the industry and I just feel … better equipped in that regard. It wasn’t something I thought about too much.”