Charli opted not to confirm whether her song “Sympathy Is a Knife” is about Swift in a new cover story interview with ‘New York’ magazine

Taylor Swift remains a fan of Charli xcx.

After the English pop star’s Brat album track “Sympathy Is a Knife” sparked rumors of a rift between the two musicians, Swift opened up to New York magazine in a new cover story on Charli about admiring the “Guess” singer’s work.

“I’ve been blown away by Charli’s melodic sensibilities since I first heard ‘Stay Away’ in 2011. Her writing is surreal and inventive, always,” Swift, 34, told the outlet.

Charli xcx in Inglewood in March 2024.
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The “Fortnight” artist added of Charli, 32, “She just takes a song to places you wouldn’t expect it to go, and she’s been doing it consistently for over a decade. I love to see hard work like that pay off.”

Fans began speculating Charli felt negatively toward Swift after the release of “Sympathy Is a Knife,” the lyrics of which discuss the “Apple” musician feeling insecure about another woman in her orbit.

Charli previously opened for Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018, later told Pitchfork she felt the experience was like “getting up onstage and waving to 5-year-olds” and then clarified the comments in a note to Swifties.

“Sympathy Is a Knife” also features Charli — who’s engaged to George Daniel of The 1975 — singing the lyrics, “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back / I hope they break up quick.”

Upon hearing the song, fans speculated she was discussing Swift’s past relationship with the band’s lead singer Matty Healy, who’s now engaged to Gabbriette Bechtel.

In the New York interview, Charli refused to clarify whether “Sympathy Is a Knife” is about Swift. “People are gonna think what they want to think,” she said.

Charli xcx in Los Angeles in March 2024.
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

“That song is about me and my feelings and my anxiety and the way my brain creates narratives and stories in my head when I feel insecure and how I don’t want to be in those situations physically when I feel self-doubt,” added Charli.

The “Von Dutch” star also offered a simple “No” when asked, as the reporter noted, “if she had ever considered leaving out the line about being backstage together since it makes the allusion seem so obvious.”

Charli xcx in Beverly Hills in February 2024.
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty

In June, Charli took to social media to speak out against certain fans for chanting “Taylor Swift Is Dead” at her performances in Brazil. “Can the people who do this please stop. Online or at my shows,” she wrote in an Instagram Story.

“It is the opposite of what I want and it disturbs me that anyone would think there is room for this in this community,” she added. “I will not tolerate it.”