Taylor Swift's inner circle appears to have decided who to team up with after cozy pictures with current rival, Charli XCX, surfaced.
The 35-year-old pop icon's longtime friends, Cara Delevingne and Ed Sheeran, were photographed with the Brat singer on Instagram from the Academy Museum's 5th Annual Gala on October 18.
Swift herself was notably absent from the event, and fans were quick to connect it to the rumoured feud between the two pop stars, who recently released a song Actually Romantic as a response to Charli's Sympathy is a Knife.
Taylor Swift's Diss Track to Charli XCX: What Really Happened?
In the Sympathy is a Knife, Charli revealed that the song was a reflection of her feelings and anxiety when she feels insecure. According to US Weekly, the Brat artist admitted that sometimes being around more commercially successful artists made her feel inferior. Charli recently stood by her comments as well, adding that she dislikes the 'performative' assumptions about her persona.
'There's a messiness and a lack of perfection — that's what makes me honest'. In Swift's reputation stadium tour, Charli was one of the openers alongside Camilla Cabello and Halsey.
However, despite explaining herself, evidence of her subtle dig at Swift has resurfaced, including liking several photos that make fun of Swift's relationship with NFL str Travis Kelce.
Following her chart-topping album, The Life of a Showgirl, Swift has finally responded to Charli's one-sided feud during the Brat album rollout.
Fans immediately believed Actually Romantic was for Charli with the lines 'I heard you call me boring Barbie when the coke's got your brain', after videos of the artist snorting coke floods the internet, and 'High-fived my ex and then said you're glad he ghosted me', which is a jab at Matty Healy who reportedly ghosted the artist prior to meeting Kelce.
Charli is currently married to a member of The 1975, which is Healy's band.
Regardless, Swift did not take offense to Charli's comments, and as the message of the song says, it's 'actually romantic' that she thinks of her every time. The Actually Romantic singer explained that she's flattered that someone would care about her every movement when none of her exes have done the same.
With that, the feud has escalated into a full-blown diva-off.
Interestingly, however, Swift has spoken positively about Charli in the past interviews, once describing her as 'inventive' and 'melodically brilliant'.
Is Friendship Over Between Swift and Delevingne, Sheeran?
The recent gala photo featuring Swift's friends with Charli has set social media ablaze, accusing Delevingne and Sheeran of betraying their friend.
There is little sign that Swift's friendship with the two is cooling down. Delevingne, who's been close to Swift since 2013 and was part of her famed 'girl squad', even liked the artist's viral engagement announcement post. Meanwhile, Sheeran recently confirmed Swift's comment that the reason he only found out about her engagement the day it was posted was because he doesn't have a phone and only checks his iPad occasionally.
Others argue that it's a sign that the supposed feud might be overblown.
Perhaps, the two 'worked it out on the remix' behind the scenes, after news broke out that Swift's long-time friend and producer, Jack Antonoff, is working with Charli on a new song.
