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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Peony Hirwani

Taylor Swift shuts down Olivia Rodrigo feud rumours at VMAs

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Taylor Swift has quashed any doubts of a feud between her and Olivia Rodrigo.

Rumours of a feud between the two singers were sparked in 2021 when Rodrigo gave Swift and Jack Antonoff – who is a longtime collaborator with Swift – writing credits and royalties for her track “Deja Vu”, as it had interpolated Swift’s “Cruel Summer”.

The 20-year-old singer also gave the pair writing credits for “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back”, since the tune interpolated Swift’s “New Year’s Day”.

Since then, many people have speculated about bad blood between Rodrigo and Swift.

On Tuesday (12 September), Swift quashed any rumours of a feud with Rodrigo by cheering for her at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.

While the singer didn’t directly comment on the feud, she was seen applauding for Rodrigo when her performance was announced.

“The non-existent beef has been squashed,” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter) while sharing a clip of Swift applauding for Rodrigo.

“Finally, everyone shut up now,” another fan commented.

One person wrote: “You can tell there’s no beef. Stop it guys!”

Swift’s gesture comes after Rodrigo recently commented on the rumours that she’s been feuding with the “Red” singer.

The singer addressed the ongoing speculation during an interview with Rolling Stone, as she appeared on the cover of the magazine’s newest issue.

“I don’t have beef with anyone,” Rodrigo said. “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 added: “There’s so many Twitter conspiracy theories. I only look at alien conspiracy theories.”

At this year’s VMAs, Swift dominated the 2023 VMA nominations with eight nods: Artist of the Year, Video of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop, Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Visual Effects and Best Editing, all for her 2022 hit “Anti-Hero”.

The “Style” singer emerged the biggest winner of the night, winning four awards for Video of the Year, Best Direction, Song of the Year, and Best Pop, all for “Anti-Hero.”

She also became the first artist to win Video of the Year award four years in a row.

It has also been revealed that VMAs had a camera person dedicated solely to filming Swift’s reactions at this year’s ceremony.

“There is a camera operator tasked with filming [Swift] continuously during the live performances onstage,” Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh, who was in attendance at the awards, tweeted alongside a video.

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