Olivia Rodrigo, 23, pushed back on rumors of an estranged relationship with Taylor Swift, 36, telling the New York Times podcast “Popcast” that she doesn’t “read that far into it.” The comments come after both artists reportedly attended Paul McCartney’s Los A
For Rodrigo, the hard part isn’t the music—it’s the internet’s insistence on writing the story for her.
In a wide-ranging interview on the New York Times podcast “Popcast” Thursday. May 28. the 23-year-old Grammy winner addressed persistent speculation that she and Taylor Swift. 36. are estranged. After Swift was credited on Rodrigo’s 2021 hit “Deja Vu. ” rumors swirled about a falling out between the two pop stars. Rodrigo’s answer was straightforward: she isn’t interested in turning those theories into a personal narrative.
“I don’t really read that far into it,” Rodrigo told hosts Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli. “I think it comes with the territory, and it’s par for the course.”
The conversation landed at a time when Swift and Rodrigo have again found themselves in the same headlines. Both were reportedly among the attendees at Paul McCartney’s Los Angeles concert in March.
Rodrigo, whose multiplatinum album “Sour” made her a sensation as a teenager, has repeatedly cited Swift as a major influence. She has also interpolated Swift’s “Reputation” track “New Year’s Day” in her song “1 Step Forward. 3 Steps Back.” And the ties between them stretch back further—Swift was an early supporter after Rodrigo’s debut single “Drivers License.”.
Still, the credit on “Deja Vu” became a flashpoint. Swift, alongside Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent, received a retroactive writing credit on Rodrigo’s “Deja Vu” in July 2021. That change followed inspiration Rodrigo drew from the chant-like vocals on the bridge of Swift’s “Cruel Summer.”
When Rodrigo’s 2023 sophomore album “Guts” arrived, fans dug in harder. Speculation about a possible feud intensified around “Vampire,” the album’s lead single. Many listeners claimed the lyrics—centered on Rodrigo’s feelings of being jilted by a fame-hungry significant other—were secretly about her friendship with Swift.
Rodrigo’s performance choices haven’t helped the rumor mills cool down. When she performed “Vampire” at the 2024 Grammy Awards, Swift was spotted in the crowd singing along, and later giving Rodrigo a standing ovation.
But Rodrigo said she feels no need to engage with the broader detective work happening online. “If I dove into every internet detective sleuth that got things right or wrong about my life or any of my relationships. I think I’d just go crazy. ” she said on “Popcast. ” adding that there’s “just not enough time in the day.” She did not address the current state of her relationship with Swift.
That refusal to litigate her private life in public is part of a pattern. Rodrigo has previously confronted the rumor cycle after “Drivers License,” when the spotlight expanded beyond music into her personal world. She became the subject of an alleged love triangle involving pop singer Sabrina Carpenter and her former Disney Channel costar Joshua Bassett. The intense scrutiny then fed additional rumors of a feud between Rodrigo and Carpenter, which Rodrigo has since dismissed.
“It was just such a crazy experience for everyone involved,” Rodrigo told “Popcast” of the dating scandal. “I just had to learn to detach. and I think that’s something that I’m hopefully good at these days. still trying to detach from people who don’t know every little detail of my life. I think you just have to, otherwise you just go kind of crazy.”.
The sequence of these moments—Swift’s early support. the retroactive credit on “Deja Vu. ” the later “Guts” speculation. and the Grammy-era visible support—leaves one question hanging for fans: are the rumors getting traction because of what happened on paper. or because people need a fight where there may be none. Rodrigo’s response points to the answer she wants the public to stop trying to solve.
At the same time, the headlines don’t go away. With Swift and Rodrigo both drawing attention again—reportedly at Paul McCartney’s March Los Angeles concert—and with each new release inviting new theories. Rodrigo’s strategy is clear: keep the truth offline. and move on before the conversation becomes something she can’t control.
Olivia Rodrigo Taylor Swift Popcast New York Times podcast Deja Vu Guts Vampire Sour Drivers License Sabrina Carpenter Joshua Bassett Paul McCartney concert Jack Antonoff St. Vincent Cruel Summer Reputation New Year's Day