Here’s Why People Are Convinced That Taylor Swift’s Divisive New Song “CANCELLED!” Is About Blake Lively, Brittany Mahomes, And Even Sabrina Carpenter
“‘I like my friends cancelled’ is the most tone deaf lyric a white billionaire with MAGA friends could release in this climate.”
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Taylor Swift’s latest studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, is officially here — and of course, fans are already sharing their thoughts on who they think each song is about. Perhaps one of the most notable tracks is “CANCELLED!” — a song that hears Taylor praising her friends who have faced intense public scrutiny for various reasons.
The song opens with Taylor — who has been at the center of many public controversies over the years — essentially calling out the way that celebrities can face intense criticism. “You thought that it would be OK, at first / The situation could be saved, of course / But they’d already picked out your grave and hearse / Beware the wrath of masked crusaders,” she sings.
“Did you girl-boss too close to the sun? / Did they catch you having far too much fun? / Come with me, when they see us, they’ll run / Something wicked this way comes,” she continues.
Taylor then goes on to declare that she likes her friends “cancelled,” directly referencing the cancel culture that sees celebrities being held to account for their wrongdoings or divisive behavior. “Good thing I like my friends cancelled / I like ’em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal / Like my whiskey sour / And poison thorny flowers,” she sings. “Welcome to my underworld / Where it gets quite dark / At least you know exactly who your friends are / They’re the ones with matching scars.”
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Taylor references various reasons for getting “cancelled,” including being “tone-deaf and hot,” being “too smug for your own good,” or making a joke that “only a man” could make. Later on, she adds, “But if you can’t be good, then just be better at it / Everyone’s got bodies in the attic / Or took somebody’s man, we’ll take you by the hand / And soon you’ll learn the art of never getting caught.”
“They stood by me / Before my exoneration / They believed I was innocent / So I’m not here for judgment,” she sings.
Reacting to the bold lyrics, several fans have many theories about who they think Taylor is singing about. Perhaps the most popular assumption is that “CANCELLED!” is about Blake Lively, with whom Taylor famously shared a years-long, public friendship ahead of Blake’s recent legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
To quickly recap: Blake sued her It Ends with Us costar Justin last December, accusing him of sexual harassment and attempting to destroy her career with a targeted campaign. He countersued and made a series of claims against Blake, including that she’d used Taylor’s influence to exert control over the movie. According to a complaint filed by Justin, Blake had referred to Taylor as one of the “dragons” to her “Khaleesi” in an alleged text message that read, “I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually for better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine.”
After Taylor was subpoenaed by Justin’s lawyers amid the legal battle, sources claimed that her friendship with Blake had “halted” and been “fractured.”
Neither Taylor nor Blake have explicitly addressed the speculation around their friendship, though fans noticed that Blake did not congratulate Taylor on her recent engagement to Travis Kelce, while Taylor did not publicly acknowledge Blake’s birthday the following day. Of course, the duo have not been seen together at all since the rumors of their fallout.
It’s also important to note that Blake faced a heap of backlash as the legal battle unfolded. As numerous pointed stories flooded the media, the Gossip Girl star was branded things like “horrendous” to work with and a “liar.”
With all of this in mind, several fans theorized that Taylor was singing about Blake’s “cancelation” on her new album — but there are several other pretty pointed hints suggesting that “CANCELLED!” is about Blake.
For starters, Blake has spent over a decade as the brand ambassador of Gucci’s Première fragrance — something that Taylor seemingly references when she sings, “I like ’em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal.”
The following lyric about “poison thorny flowers” also appears to reference It Ends with Us, which Blake memorably promoted by telling fans to grab their “florals.” In the film, Blake plays protagonist Lily Bloom, who owns a flower shop.
“I’m like 90% sure CANCELLED! is about Blake,” one tweet read. “‘i like my friends cancelled’ so we know her and blake lively are still good!” someone else guessed.
“cancelled! is definitely about blake lively,” another post read.
But Blake isn’t the only person rumoured to be at the center of “CANCELLED!” Many fans have theorized that Taylor’s bold track also references Brittany Mahomes and Sabrina Carpenter, both of whom she’s super close with.
Taylor’s friendship with Brittany has sparked strong backlash from some of her fans, given Brittany’s public support of Donald Trump.
Speculating that “CANCELLED!” references their divisive friendship, one person wrote, “Everyone is saying Blake but my mind went straight to Brittany,” while another user said, “‘i like my friends cancelled’ is this about brittany mahomes.”
Meanwhile, some users said that Sabrina came to mind when they heard Taylor’s line about taking “somebody’s man.” For context, Sabrina was previously caught up in a scandal when Olivia Rodrigo released “drivers license,” a song that seemingly references the Joshua Bassett love triangle. You can read all about it in more detail here.
“I was thinking Brittany and Sabrina,” one user said, while another pointed out that Sabrina “was accused of stealing someone’s man too.”
One fan suggested, “I think this song isn’t necessarily about any one of her friends in particular, this is more of her ‘girl’s girl’ anthem. Basically her saying that no matter which of her friends you are, or how messy you are, or when the world is against you, she is there for you regardless.”
Another person agreed, “I can see this being about a lot of friends in general.”
But amid all the discussion, several users admitted that they felt some of the lyrics in “CANCELLED!” were pretty out of touch in today’s climate. “‘I like my friends cancelled’ is the most tone deaf lyric a white billionaire with MAGA friends could release in this climate,” one tweet read, while someone else suggested that the song “further proves the privilege folks live in that they don’t see how some of those lyrics are extremely tone deaf in the social political climate we find ourselves in.”
Meanwhile, some users pointed out that Taylor did not publicly support Blake amid her legal battle and so-called “cancelation.”
We’d love to hear your “CANCELLED!” theories in the comments. You can stream The Life of a Showgirl for yourself here, and be sure to check out more of our Taylor coverage right here.