Who is the celebrity snitch fuelling Taylor Swift and Charli XCX’s feud? Fans have been speculating which A-lister told Taylor about Brat star’s ‘Boring Barbie’ jab… and there are a lot of suspects

It was a mere week ago that Taylor Swift sang of an ‘obsessed’ hater that ‘called her “boring Barbie” when the coke’s got them brave’ – but already, fans have spiralled with theories of who it’s about, and how the singer got wind of things said behind her back.

Set to punky guitar chords, the performer also accused the subject of the tune of ‘high-fiving her ex and then saying they’re glad he ghosted her’ and ‘writing her a song saying it makes them sick to see her face’. 

The song, called Actually Romantic has largely been speculated to be about Charli XCX, who wrote about her life and image of being a hedonistic party girl in the breakthrough Brat album last summer – sparking rumours of a ‘feud’ between the pair.

As rumours of bad blood have grown, however, supporters on each side have been zoning in on possible informers.

Both stars contain a network of connections, with Taylor, 35, and The 1975 frontman musician Matty Healy romantically linked in May 2023 while Charli, 33 – whose real name is Charlotte Emma Aitchison – this summer married the band’s drummer George Daniel.

The duo also share a big web of friends and contemporaries, including Sabrina Carpenter, Lorde and Zoe Kravitz just to name a few.

It opened a can of worms for certified ‘stans’ of both popstars, who have been trying to identify the ‘snitch’ that they think sold Charli out to the Life of a Showgirl singer.

And as whispers of bad blood begin to grow, social media sleuths are all asking the same thing – who is the mole?

SABRINA CAPRTENTER

Sabrina, 26, has long been dubbed a ‘Tay-daughter’, citing the megastar as one of her inspirations and attending her concerts when she was young.

What’s more, the Espresso singer has featured on Taylor’s latest album, lending her vocals to the final titular album track, Life of a Showgirl, and was among the openers for her Eras Tour.

 For these reasons, she’s been spotlighted as the potential source, loyal to her mentor – who may have reported back to Taylor after rubbing shoulders with Charli.

Charli and Sabrina attended a myriad of award shows together last year, with both their albums critically acclaimed at events like the Brits and Grammys.

During an interview with Rolling Stone in 2023, Sabrina gushed about Taylor and said: ‘Watching her is a masterclass in itself.

‘Obviously, she’s very good with words.

‘So I feel a lot more comfortable that I’m going into a situation with someone that I admire so much and I’m just gonna like study.’ 

JACK ANTONOFF AND MARGARET QUALLEY

Her longtime production collaborator Jack Antonoff, 41 – and his wife Margaret Qualley, 30, are also top of the list of ‘snitch’ suspects.

Taylor was present at the couple’s wedding, where she was said to have made a toast. She is even known to have a secret handshake with the Bleachers vocalist.

However showbiz is a small world, and in-demand Jack has also been in the studio with Charli. The duo had also co-headlined a tour together in 2015. 

In 2023, Pitchfork reported that Charli and Jack were making music for a new A24 film, Mother Mary, together while in June, rumours swirled that he would work with the Brat star on her upcoming studio album.

He has also offered praise for the 33-year-old British singer, telling Rolling Stone in 2024: ‘People call it Brat Summer – it should be called “artist development summer”.

‘Sabrina, Charli and Chappell Roan – the three of them have had this shared experience of artists who have been crystallising, and that’s where you get gems.

‘And that’s the story of being an artist. That’s true artist development.

‘And it doesn’t matter where we are in tech or streaming or anything – the only way to win is to create your own language.’

LORDE

She ‘worked it out on the remix’ with Charli on the Brat album – but so many on social media believe Kiwi singer Lorde, 28, is behind the goss getting back to Taylor.

The performer from New Zealand has long been known to be pally with the Eras Tour star – and both have been supportive of one another.

In 2023, Lorde shared the text message she received from Taylor when her sophomore album Melodrama was released.

As the Royals singer marked the record’s six-year anniversary, she posted a number of snaps chronicling its creation – including her exchange with Taylor. 

‘You will always be imagined in my mind in a rowboat with Annie Lennox floating down a river of cool cerebral ethereal dreams but don’t-f–k-with-me vibes all around you,’ the Bejeweled singer messaged her.

‘And I don’t think first week record sales singularly define a legacy,’ the Karma singer added.

‘I love you so much for this,’ Lorde replied.

She then wrote over the screenshot: ‘Taylor was very kind and not wrong.’ 

But Lorde has also rubbed shoulders with Charli, with the pair having recently cultivated a cultural comeback following years of rumours that the pair had ‘beef’. 

Recently, Taylor fans have also been left convinced that her latest glamorous photoshoot included a subtle ‘Easter Egg’ hinting at a major feud as the American songstress was seen draped in a gold chainmail dress custom-made by New York-based designer Kelsey Randall in a behind-the-scenes look at her new album.

In one picture, which she shared to her Instagram account, Taylor glamorously perched on a white table with a black heeled foot in the air, alongside a glass of white wine and a plate of tomato spaghetti. 

Fans were left convinced that Taylor’s latest shoot was ‘shading’ the Brat singer and referred to backlash she and her friends, including Matty and his fiancée Gabbriette Bechtel, received after her Grammy afterparty dinner, when they filmed themselves eating pasta with their hands.

At the meal in February, which was also attended by the likes of Lorde and Troye Sivan, Gabbriette filmed herself eating pasta with her hands, declaring it to be a part of ‘brat summer’ – the name of Charli’s most recent album.  

Gracing the cover of Variety’s Hitmakers issue in December, Charli revealed how she and Lorde were able to fix some ‘public misunderstandings’ by joining forces on a song, after she feared that it could sever their friendship.

She said: ‘For Girl, So Confusing, the second I wrote it I was like, “I need Ella [Lorde] to be on a remix of this song”. But I didn’t know how to approach it because obviously it’s a tricky situation. 

‘And when I finally did, she actually suggested, “Maybe I should do a verse.” Within 24 or 48 hours she came back with that incredible verse, which made me really, really emotional.’

Charli previously shared fears that Lorde would ‘never speak to her again’ after failing to tell the Ribs singer about her song Girl, So Confusing. 

She explained to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 that she didn’t tell her pal about the track, that is said to be about their relationship, until the day before its release.

‘I was ready for her to never speak to me again. That could have been an outcome.

In the track she sings: ‘Sometimes I think I might hate you / Maybe you just wanna be me’ and ‘People say we’re alike / They say we’ve got the same hair / We talk about making music / But I don’t know if it’s honest.’

GRACIE ABRAMS

Taylor and Gracie Abrams, 26, have collaborated together, with the That’s So True singer being one of the openers for the Eras Tour.

And both have gushed about their forged new bond. 

‘The Eras Tour has been going on about a year and a half now, and so, a lot of life can happen in the phase of that tour and a lot of art can happen in the course of that tour,’ Taylor told the crowd at one of the concerts.

‘I think you’ll remember the genius brilliant young lady you saw earlier tonight, Gracie Abrams. So, storytime, Gracie was opening up for me a year ago on the Eras Tour.

‘We had so many fun memories during that tour, one of which we were celebrating her getting nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys, we had, like, eleventy-hundred Cosmos, went back to my house and just started writing a song.’ 

The Fortnight hitmaker went on to share that the track, Us, off Gracie’s album The Secret of Us, got ‘nominated for a Grammy’.

‘You can’t even imagine, like, the phone call between the two of us when the nominations came out and we saw that song was nominated,’ Taylor explained. ‘It was just screeching. It wasn’t even words, it was just feral screeching for the entire call.’

Gracie previously revealed they extinguished a fire while making the song after a candle in Taylor’s kitchen fell over during their songwriting session. 

The singers were enjoying drinks and dinner ‘well past 6 am’ after the long songwriting session when the fire started – and Swift grabbed a fire extinguisher and successfully put it out. 

‘She was such a legend – I don’t know how at this hour or in our state she knew what to do,’ she told Billboard.

‘We both had an insane cough from the fire extinguisher fumes for weeks.’

During the night when the fire broke out, Gracie said they listened to songs from Taylor’s Tortured Poets Department: Anthology together, and were dancing and singing to But Daddy I Love Him.

She said they were dancing and singing ‘like theater kids’ to the tune, before listening to her song The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived while ‘lying on the floor in disbelief’.

However, Gracie has too crossed paths with Charli over the summer – and even attended her Glastonbury set, being spotlighted as the ‘Apple girl’.

SELENA GOMEZ AND BENNY BLANCO

Selena Gomez, 33, and Taylor have been besties for years. 

Just this week, Swifties went wild after learning her reaction to the former Disney star’s wedding look, in a never-before-seen video that Selena posted. 

Taylor was seen fussing and marveling over the bride, who was getting her veil adjusted in front of a large mirror, before marrying music producer Benny Blanco, 37.

‘Are you even serious right now?’ the superstar gushed over the stunning bridal makeup as she filmed the moment on her phone. ‘What? Look at her. Oh, my God! Oh, my God!’ 

Selene answered: ‘I’m so happy, I’m getting married! Finally!’

While Selena doesn’t have a particularly strong link to Charli herself, Benny has worked with Charli on  her earlier work – and may have heard rumours through the grapevine.

Charli was also credited as a writer on Selena Gomez’s track – produced by Benny – titled Bluest Flame. 

ZOE KRAVITZ

Zoe Kravitz, 36, is among one of Taylor’s best friends, and has cheered on her new album in her interviews.

So close are the pair, that the singer even let the actress and her mother Lisa Bonet stay at her historic $25 million Beverly Hills home amid the devastating Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year in January.

In August, the Batman star hilarious revealed how she ‘destroyed’ a part of the abode, after her mother’s pet snake Orpheus slithered into a hole in the wall. 

And during her latest appearance, Taylor shared her version of events, prefacing the story by telling the audience, ‘we’ve all got that one friend’.

She then shared how she got a phone call from her head of security, who tried to explain the story to her. 

‘And my first question was, “What snake?”‘ the star asked in shock, adding, ‘I was unaware of the presence of the snake on the premises.’

However, the singer then found humor in the situation, imagining how ‘chic’ the scene must have looked. 

‘But I kind of found myself listening to this. And I’m like, “Uh-huh, okay, okay.” And, I hate to first and last name a friend, but it’s important in this situation.’

‘Okay, so, Zoe Kravitz and Lisa Bonet are holding on to a Burmese python. It’s halfway in the wall. There’s a man standing with an ax, who has just chopped up a custom vintage antique cupboard.’

‘There’s splinters on the floor. They’re looking… in my mind, they’re looking up over their shoulder. This is an Annie Leibovitz shoot,’ the star joked.

‘This is the chicest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Zoe’s wearing, like, head-to-toe the Row. I’m like, this is a YSL ad, not a problem.’ 

‘It just sounds incredible. I’m sad I didn’t see it,’ she said, before adding, ‘I can’t even be mad.’

Taylor then said she waited to see how long it would take Zoe to fess up.

‘I did play the little game in my head, because I know her well enough to know she’s not gonna tell me about this until it’s fixed. I know her so well.’

‘I just kept a little countdown on my phone, like, just counting the days. I think it was, like, three weeks, exactly the amount of time it took to fix the damaged cupboard.’

‘And she’s like sitting at my house. She’s like, “Hey, so, like, I’m just gonna tell you about something that happened now that it’s fixed.”‘

‘And I was like, “You had a snake in the house, and it got loose, and it was in the wall, and they had to get an axe, and they had…” and she’s like, “I told them not to tell you!”‘

But A-lister Zoe has also been spotted in the same ethers as Charli – most recently seen sitting with the British singer and Hailey Bieber at Paris Fashion week.

The trio were accused of shading Blackpink member Rosé after an awkward interaction between the ladies was caught on camera at a Saint Laurent fashion show.

Some social media users felt like K-pop singer was purposely excluded from the conversation. Soon, rumors erupted that there were tensions between Rosé, 28, and the other women.

One clip showed Zoe, Hailey and Charli all animatedly talking together as Rosé sat next to them in silence. What made things worse was that Charli, who was beside Rosé, had her back turned to the K-pop star to face Zoe and Hailey.

Rosé looked towards the women before she awkwardly turned her gaze down at the ground.

The video went viral, sparking fierce speculation that the three stars were purposely ‘ignoring’ Rosé.

ICE SPICE

Rapper Ice Spice has for years been linked to the Life of a Showgirl singer learned a lot when she was working with Taylor on her Eras Tour in 2023. 

The stylish Bronx native, 25, not only spent time on stage with Taylor, but sang with her on the remixed single Karma, introducing the song at the Eras Tour concert in East Rutherford, NJ. 

As a relative newcomer to the music industry, she was able to take in a lot from the Grammy winner just by being around her.   

‘The thing about Taylor is that she keeps it so real,’ the singer said in an interview with Nylon magazine.

‘Not even kidding, but one of the biggest things that I always think about that Taylor said is “As long as you keep making music, everything’s going to be fine,”‘ she told the outlet. 

That’s not to say Ice is being mentored whenever she sees the newly engaged artist.

‘Every time we hang out, she’s not just giving me advice, you know what I mean? We’re talking about the food we’re eating or whatever’s going on in the moment,’ she explained. 

Ice said the advice has come in useful ‘Whenever I’m feeling doubtful or not as confident,’ or ‘having writer’s block.’

‘No matter what it is, things like that really, really stand out to me,’ she asserted, adding, ‘She said that to me a few years ago, and it still stood with me.’

Taylor has praised Ice, born Isis Gaston, as ‘the one to watch’ for her work ethic and as a ‘brilliant artist,’ for her body of work.

Ice does have connections to Charli however, as she revealed in a Rolling Stone interview last year, explaining she was approached by the Brat singer, who offered to add a verse to an official Deli remix.

Ice said she was too busy and couldn’t record but cleared the original Deli sample. 

‘She wanted a brand-new verse,’ she shared. ‘I was like, “F**k, I wish this was at a time when I had finished my album, because then I could have did it for her.” I’ll catch her on the next one.’

CAMILLA CABELLO

Another possible candidate lies in Camila Cabello – a longtime supporter of Taylor’s who Charli appeared to have taken a brutal swipe at last year.

The drama kicked off when Camila started teasing her new single, ‘I Luv It’, on social media. With its hyperpop sound, the track is worlds away from Camila’s usual Latin-inspired pop music. 

Fans online were quick to point out the song’s similarities to Charli’s 2017 single ‘I Got It’.

Charli seemed to notice too, with the 33-year-old taking to TikTok to seemingly mock Camila by recreating a promotional clip that the former Fifth Harmony member had shared to promote the song’s release.

In Camila’s video, the 27-year-old poses in the passenger seat of a luxury car before sticking her head out the window as she lip syncs to ‘I Luv It’. 

Charli appeared to mock the clip on TikTok by posing and singing along to ‘I Got It’.

The shady video sent fans into a frenzy, with many pointing out that Charli – who first bonded with Camilla on Taylor’s Reputation tour, on which they were both openers – seemed to be taking aim at the Havana hitmaker. 

However, she quashed rumours of a beef with The Independent. 

‘There’s only one song that really references that genre a little bit for 15 seconds,’ she explained. ‘What I was worried about was the relationship between me and [Charli].

‘She called me and was like, “Hey, I hope you don’t think that I’m actually mad. This is me playing into the Brat era”. And I totally respect that, you know?’

Camilla has been vocal in her admiration of Taylor as a mentor. 

‘Taylor has always been so kind and supportive and also goes out of her way to give you artist advice,’ she told Bustle in 2021.

‘She’s really about making friendships and relationships the most important thing. She is so brave at watering those seeds of friendships and relationships.

‘She always answers my texts and she’s so busy. I don’t even answer texts because I’m just worse at it. It takes intention to be like, “Let me write all my friends back”.’

CARA DELEVINGNE

Model Cara Delevingne, 33, was famously part of Taylor’s 2010s ‘squad’ and featured in her Bad Blood Music video.

However, the British socialite also has been spotted around the Brat singer, with both partying it up at Glastonbury this summer. 

Sharing a series of snaps to Instagram, Charli penned: ‘GLASTONBURY I HAD THE BEST TIME PERFORMING AND PARTYING TYSM FOR THE MOST FUN WEEKEND I LOVE YOU AND I LOVE DOING MY THING. I FEEL HAPPY XXX’  

In photos from the post, Cara looked happier than ever as she wore a casual white T-shirt and an arm full of festival wristbands as the pals cheekily posed for snaps.

Elsewhere last year, the model opened up about her friendship with Taylor as  she reminisced about the time she was roommates with the Karma singer while speaking to comedian Nikki Glaser for a new feature in Interview Magazine.

‘I was going through a really horrible breakup, and she let me live with her,’ Cara, who earlier that year shared how her drug and alcohol abuse left her ‘super depressed’, admitted, adding, ‘We’re very different people.’

‘She’s very homely, because she looked after me so well, but we got into some – not trouble, but I definitely took her for a bit of a wild ride.’

The subject was brought up after Cara, who was supported by Taylor at her Cabaret performance in May 2024, asked Nikki who she’d like to roast next, following her viral appearance at Tom Brady’s roast. 

‘I mean, as a Swiftie, I would love a roast of Taylor Swift. But I actually wouldn’t because I would be angry if anyone was really mean,’ Nikki said. 

Cara said, ‘That’s so true. The thing about Taylor, though, is I’ve seen her do a speech at someone’s wedding before, and it was a roast.

‘She’s one of the funniest, most clever people. Anyone could roast her easily, but at the same time, she could f**k everyone up so hard.’

‘I could definitely roast her, because I lived with her for a little bit,’ Cara said, before recalling the details about their times together.  ‘Just to get her to blush would be great,’ she added. 

…AND MATTY HEALY?

Perhaps a more rogue – but ardently considered candidate on social media – is Taylor’s rumoured former flame Matty himself, who is linked to Charli through her husband, and his bandmate, George Daniel. 

Charli has grown closer with her beau’s bandmate in recent years while his fiancée, Gabbriette, meanwhile, is a long-time friend of the singer’s who has previously appeared in her music videos. 

Fans started speculating that tensions in these connections were clear when Charli came out with Sympathy Is a Knife, the third track on Brat.

In it, she describes feeling anxiety about another woman, singing: ‘I couldn’t even be her if I tried’, also adding: ‘Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back / I hope they break up quick’. 

Although the song is not critical about anyone, fans started speculating that the song was about Taylor as she was said to be dating Matty when Charli likely wrote the lyrics.

Another line read: ‘It’s a knife when you’re finally on top… / They want to see you fall,’ which could be a reference to Taylor’s chart dominance.

Moreover, Taylor’s new tune Actually Romantic is believed to be a comeback to Charli’s 2018 track Everything Is Romantic. 

However, Charli appeared to address the rumoured rift in an article with New York magazine in August last year. 

She said: ‘People are gonna think what they want to think. 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.’

Taylor also contributed to the article and gushed she is ‘blown away’ by the Brat singer’s music.

The Fearless songstress said: ‘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. 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.’