Taylor Swift’s song ‘CANCELLED!’ sets off debate among fans: What to know
The release of musician Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album “The Life of a Showgirl” has already sparked discussion and debate online as fans rush to figure out hidden meanings in her lyrics.
The album’s 10th song, “CANCELLED!,” has particularly caught fans’ attention. Even before the album’s release, fans wondered about the song’s title and who it could be about.
The song itself doesn’t offer many specifics. Though Swift has said it was at least partially inspired by her own experiences with negative attention, the song’s lyrics indicate she may be talking about friends.
Here’s what to know about Swift’s song.
Origin of ‘CANCELLED!’
Swift described the inspiration behind the song on “The Life of a Showgirl: Track-by-Track Version” on Amazon Music.
“The song ‘CANCELLED!’ is sort of about, you know, having had my own experiences with mass judgment, and being at the center of many, you know, dramatic, kind of scandalous moments in my career, where people were all weighing in at once, or at least it felt like that,” Swift said.
“Having had those experiences, it makes me move through the world a little bit differently,” she said.
Swift has faced controversy on numerous occasions, ranging from songs that seemingly described her past relationships to backlash over the carbon footprint of her private jet.
She has also feuded with prominent people in the music industry, including music manager Scooter Braun. He previously owned Swift’s early music catalog, but Swift announced in the summer she had reacquired it.
The lyrics of ‘CANCELLED!‘
Swift’s song starts with a situation that’s rapidly devolving. Swift knowingly describes someone who “thought it would be OK, at first” only to find out that others had already picked out their “grave and hearse.”
She wonders what the unnamed antagonists had discovered: whether the person they were after had been caught “having far too much fun” or girl-bossing “too close to the sun.”
But the song pivots, and Swift starts talking about her friends, whom she says she likes “canceled” and “cloaked in Gucci and in scandal.”
“At least you know exactly who your friends are/They’re the ones with matching scars,” the song continues.
After her own brushes with cancellation, Swift seems sympathetic to others with similar experiences.
“When other people go through it, you kind of find yourself thinking about how they’re probably going to get smarter because of this,” Swift said on the Amazon Music track. “If they can get through it, if they can be tough enough, they can actually learn some things through this process.”
The song could be about her own willingness to extend an arm to others facing backlash. But fans have speculated there may be a person behind her lyrics.
Who could the song be about?
“I don’t naturally just cast people aside just because other people decide they don’t like them,” Swift said in the Amazon Music “Track-by-Track Version.” “I make my own decisions about people based on how they treat me within my life and their actions.”
So fans were left wondering: Whom exactly did Swift have in mind when she wrote this?
Some have speculated the song is about Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Swift is engaged to the Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Brittany Mahomes faced cancellation when social media users found Mahomes had “liked” then “unliked” one of President Trump’s posts last year — signaling apparent support for the president.
Others believe the song could be about Karlie Kloss, Swift’s former close friend who married Josh Kushner. His brother, Jared Kushner, formerly advised Trump — also his father-in-law — during his first administration.
Another option includes actress Blake Lively, a close friend of Swift’s who has recently made headlines due to her feud with actor Justin Baldoni.
Lively and Baldoni worked together on the set of the movie “It Ends With Us.” She sued Baldoni at the end of 2024 for sexual harassment. Baldoni’s legal team has pushed for Swift to be deposed for the case, but it’s unclear whether that will happen.