"SO THAT TAYLOR REMIX IS REALLY COMING????" — Internet reacts to Charli XCX's photoshoot featuring bloody friendship bracelet

Charli XCX's latest photoshoot with New York magazine featured the popular bloody friendship bracelet. Fans alleged that it could be a potential diss at Taylor Swift, whose fans have been exchanging friendship bracelets during The Eras Tour.

Swifties began this tradition after taking inspiration from Swift's track, You're On Your Own Kid, from Midnights (2022). The lyrics read:

"So make the friendship bracelets/ take the moment and taste it/You've got no reason to be afraid."

Charli's recent photoshoot appears to depict similar kinds of friendship bracelets on a cut hand, allegedly referring to Swift. Fans were quick to speculate why Charli XCX included the bloody friendship bracelet in her latest photoshoot. An X user wrote:

"SO THAT TAYLOR REMIX IS REALLY COMING????"

"THIS HAS TO BE AN EASTER EGG FOR SYMPATHY IS A KNIFE REMIX…," another user speculated.

"Is this a dig at Taylor Swift or something?," a netizen wondered.

"queen of easter eggs," a fan noted.

"Omg… Taylor shade," another fan alleged.

Meanwhile, some other fans believed it was not aimed at Swift, and some did not appreciate her supposed intentions.

"this is ts shade" y'all should chill, it's literally her hand🤷," a fan commented.

"That’s so disgusting….," an X user opined.

"HORRID AFTER SOUTHPORT TERROR!ST attack and Vienna WTF," another netizen wrote.

"Spine chilling 😭," an individual said.

"She’s shading Nicki bc Nicki ruins every friendship she has bc Kenneth offends them," a user guessed.

The speculations arise amid Charli XCX allegedly dissed Taylor Swift, according to fans, in one of her songs, Sympathy is a Knife, from Brat (2024).

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Charli XCX addresses rumors about her track,Sympathy is a Knife, being about Taylor Swift

Amid speculation surrounding her track, Sympathy is a Knife, from her summer album Brat, being about Taylor Swift, Charli XCX addressed the rumors in her August 26 interview with New York magazine. The singer 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."

Netizens have speculated Charli's track to be about Swift as the lyrics mention a girl who arouses self-doubt in Charli's mind about being in the world of pop. Charli XCX sings:

"This one girl taps my insecurities/ Don’t know if it’s real or if I’m spiraling."

She also mentions a person called George, allegedly referring to The 1975 band member George Daniel. The lyrics go as follows:

"Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show/ Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick."

In 2023, there were rumors of Taylor Swift dating The 1975 lead singer Matty Healy, further fuelling fans' suspicions about Charli's song being about Swift. In the aforementioned interview with NY magazine, Charli XCX was asked if she ever considered not including the paticular line.

"No. You do the silence game. But I know that well — where you go silent and want me to talk more. But I don’t care about it being awkward. We’ll sit in silence," she answered.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift praised Charli XCX in a statement sent to NY magazine for the latest cover story featuring the singer. Swift 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.”

Earlier in 2018, Charli XCX had opened for Taylor Swift in her Reputation Tour. She also joined Swift to sing the latter's hit track, Shake it Off.

In a statement to Pitchfork, the singer shared her experience of sharing the stage with Swift, describing it as getting on stage and waving to five-year-olds, which drew mixed reactions. However, the singer later clarified her stance on X.

Charli XCX also asked her fans to stop the inappropriate chants about Taylor during her concerts, via an Instagram story. This came following online hate and also after fans chanted "Taylor is dead" in Portuguese in one of her shows in Sao Paolo, Brazil.