Disney drama! Us Weekly is breaking down Olivia Rodrigo’s alleged feud with High School Musical: The Musical — The Series costar Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter, amid their music faceoff.
The Bizaardvark alum made headlines in January 2021 after releasing her debut single, “Driver’s License.” The hit song resonated with Rodrigo’s fans, including Taylor Swift, but it also caused some to think that it was about the rumored drama between her, Bassett and Carpenter.
Eagle-eyed fans pointed out that Rodrigo changed the lyrics from her 2020 teaser track from “brunette” to “blonde,” seemingly referencing the Girl Meets World alum in one verse.
“And you’re probably with that blonde girl / Who always made me doubt / She’s so much older than me / She’s everything I’m insecure about,” the Grace Stirs Up Success star sings, hinting at Carpenter’s hair color and the fact that she is three years older than her.
Rodrigo’s track came six months after Bassett released the song, “Anyone Else,” in July 2020, which appeared to be about her. “How am I supposed to think about anything else? / How am I to go on keeping this to myself? / I am done pretending I want anyone else / Anyone else, anyone else,” Bassett sings. He later confirmed that the track was written about falling for a friend who was unavailable.
In her song, Rodrigo sings, “I just can’t imagine how you could be so OK now that I’m gone / Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me.”
Although the costars have never addressed whether they were ever romantically involved, fans believe that Rodrigo and Bassett were an item in 2020. The Stuck in the Middle alum, however, seemed to move on with Carpenter in June 2020, after the pair were spotted at a protest together in L.A.
Rodrigo has yet to identify who inspired her new track, but both Bassett and Carpenter have since dropped songs of their own, hinting that they are in fact the source of inspiration for “Driver’s License.”
Bassett’s January 2021 release, titled “Lie, Lie, Lie,” came out one week after Rodrigo’s song hit the airwaves.
“I wrote ‘Lie, Lie, Lie’ after I found out a friend had been lying about me behind my back for a long time,” the Oceanside, California, native wrote via his Instagram Story at the time. “It always sucks to hear that someone you thought you could trust would throw you under the bus when it benefits them.”
He added: “It happens to all of us, and I think all you can do is seek out people that build you up rather than tear you down.”
The following week, the Clouds actress shared what appeared to be her side of the story, in the January 2021 release of “Skin.”
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“Maybe we could’ve been friends / If I met you in another life,” Carpenter sings at one point in the track. She later seemingly referenced Rodrigo’s title, with the lyric, “Don’t drive yourself insane.”
Scroll down to see everything that has unfolded between the Disney Channel stars amid their alleged feud:
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