Sabrina Carpenter Talks Olivia Rodrigo Diss Track in New Song
You probably heard about the rumoured love triangle between Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, and Sabrina Carpenter that largely unfolded through song lyrics if you spent any time online in early 2021. More than a year later, in her fifth studio album emails i can’t send, Sabrina finally shares her side of the incident.
Before listening to Sabrina’s new “exciting” album, let us quickly review the drama that has surrounded it. According to rumours from 2020, after breaking up with Olivia, Joshua started dating Sabrina. After this event, Olivia went on to write several successful songs in 2021, all of which seemed to be about her experience. Lyrics like “drivers licence” in Olivia’s “And you’re probably with that blonde girl / who always made me doubt,” led everyone to believe that the song was about Joshua and his new relationship with Sabrina.
Despite Olivia’s repeated assurances in Variety and her Disney+ film Olivia Rodrigo: hammering home 2 u that her music has never been sexist or demeaning to women, Sabrina was portrayed as the “villain,” in an online sensation that even got an SNL skit.
Sabrina eventually dropped a tune called “Skin” which many mistook for a diss track directed at Olivia and those that were “get under” her skin. Sabrina, however, was quick to disprove of these assertions “That while “some verses address a specific situation,” others “address plenty of other experiences I have had this past year” and that “the song is not calling out a one person.”
Sabrina discussed the viral love triangle and her reaction to it in a recent interview with Rolling Stone.
“I’m fully aware that even if you try to break it down, really really break it down for people, they still might not understand,” she says, “I’m not in that exact place anymore.”
“People can say whatever they want to say, but I was lucky to be able to verbalize an experience that some people have been through,” she adds. “Hopefully it has helped them get through their experience with a little bit more strength and understanding. If I can do that, then I don’t have regrets.”
One track from her new album seems to specifically address her feelings and the impact of the love triangle turmoil.
Designated As: “Possibly opening up about her time spent with Joshua, Sabrina sings, “You showed up with a boombox / And stars in your eyes / Who knew cuddling on trampolines / Could be so reckless? / We bonded over Black Eyed Peas / And complicated exes / Fell so deeply into it / It was all so innocent.”
Singing, “Now I’m a homewrecker, I’m a slut / I got death threats fillin’ up semi-trucks” and “I’m a hot topic on your tongue / I’m a rebound gettin’ ’round stealin’ from the young / Tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice / All because I liked a boy.” Sabrina moves on to the public’s perception of her.
Sabrina delivers some advice in the bridge: “Dating boys with exes / No, I wouldn’t recommend it.” For the last chorus, she asks, “And all of this for what? / When everything went down, we’d already broken up / Please, tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice / All because I liked a boy.”
Sabrina gave Rolling Stone an exclusive interview in which she discussed the new song, saying, “Writing that song in retrospect and thinking, “Wow, one thing leads to another and things can really get out of hand.” was cathartic. Being able to accept it as part of who you are without letting it define you.”
She continued, “So many people probably have dealt with the situation of being labeled something that they’re not. It’s frustrating because you want to do something about it. But then if you do something, people are mad; if you don’t do something, people are mad.”
When asked where else she found inspiration for this song, Sabrina stated “One of my favorite movies is Easy A, and I was sort of picturing Emma Stone’s character because she was labeled to be something. It’s a weirdly empowering film in a sense. She uses humor to deflect her pain and what she’s going through and I do that too.”
A heartbreak anthem in the vein of 2010’s “Easy A”? Even though the album just came out, we are already obsessed with it. In a word, Sabrina, I adore it!