Many fans are wondering if Dua Lipa just threw shade at Taylor Swift during her new interview with Anderson Cooper for 60 Minutes. The “Houdini” singer, 29, sat down with Cooper, 57, during the show’s new episode, and the journalist asked Lipa about critiques that her songs don’t give “a sense of who you are.” Cooper added: “You’re not pouring out your innermost fears and desires and wants.”
The “Levitating” hitmaker then replied: “Some people are just so ruthless with their own private life that they decide to put it all out in a song, because they know that it’s gonna attract people’s attention.” Lipa went on: “And for me, it was always important to make music that people really loved. Not because I was putting someone out on blast, or not because I’m doing it for the clickbait at maybe someone else’s expense.”
While the “Training Season” artist didn’t specifically name names or mention Swift, 34, many Swifties on social media were convinced that Lipa was referring to the “Cruel Summer” songwriter. One recently wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “I really hate when artists do this. Dua Lipa could just say she isn’t a confessional songwriter herself and leave it at that. Instead she acts out of insecurity shading other women. It’s so disrespectful to minimise the artistry of women like Lana, Taylor, Olivia, Sabrina etc.”
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Someone else tweeted: "Taylor's fan base is solid and huge. Her fans relate to real life experience because TS has had real life experience." An additional user added: "Like it’s just such a shady thing to say. She’s arguing that other women are using confessional songwriting for click bait when it’s just genuine artistic expression."
Other fans, however, defended Lipa. "DUA GET BEHIND ME SOME FANS ARE GONNA TAKE THIS AS SHADE!!!!!" one quipped along with a meme. Someone else wrote: "She’s makes a good point though…she’s not wrong."
This also isn't the first time that Lipa has been accused of making shady comments directed at Swift. Back in May, Lipa promoted her third record, Radical Optimism, which was released that month, just two weeks after Swift unveiled her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. Lipa chatted about her newest album on the Q with Tom Power podcast and discussed the "massive stigma" in pop music that she believes female artists face.
She said that she finds it's hard for female artists to be "taken seriously unless you're behind a piano or a guitar than if you're just making songs that feel good that have the aim to make you feel positive." The "Dance the Night" crooner also said she doesn't "want to subscribe" to an idea that positive music lacks "depth," because she thinks that "sometimes writing things that are optimistic that are happy that do have depth is maybe harder because a sad feeling is much easier to tap into."
Swift's fans quickly flocked to social media, observing that the "Anti-Hero" singer is famous for performing acoustic songs on both the piano and guitar during her Eras Tour. They also linked this to the melancholic theme of her latest album, rich with sorrowful tracks. The fans' suspicions grew when Lipa, in the interview, appeared to subtly critique Swift by discussing how she channels her personal experiences into her music.
"I can talk about my personal experiences, but I don't have to necessarily like say a name," she said. Lipa added: "I don't have to put someone on blast in order for me to get my catharsis." Certain Swifties interpreted Lipa's remark as a subtle dig at Swift, who has faced criticism throughout her career for her tendency to write lyrics that cast her former lovers in a negative light.
"That's for sure a dig at Taylor," one user wrote on Reddit. "We all know Taylor loves to low key put people on blast lol." Another added: "Let me see.. Which singer sits behind a piano or guitar & who's currently put 2 of her exes on blast through her latest albums?" another sarcastic user wrote. "Gee.. I wonder who that might be."
Others, however, stressed that Lipa never actually referred to Swift by name. "I don't think she's shading her at all," someone else chimed in as an additional fan noted: "I literally don't see the shade." Another commented: "Dua strikes me as a strong, confident person who is describing her writing process. Not everyone thinks about TS nonstop."
Elsewhere in the interview, Lipa explained: "When I write my songs, that's my therapy. How I choose to dress them up, that's my therapy."
