The feud at the heart of Britain's biggest festivals: Former Disney stars Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter are set to dominate Glastonbury and BST this weekend - but talk of their bitter love rivalry won't go away
Olivia, 22, is headlining Glastonbury this weekend, while Sabrina, 26, will be at British Summer Time (BST) at Hyde Park. Both the 'pop girlies' are near neck and neck in their successes despite wildly different career paths.
Sabrina has 71 million monthly Spotify listeners, while Olivia has 45 million. Elsewhere, the blonde bombshell's estimated net worth is a whopping $16 million while the 'Vampire' singer's is $25 million. Even on social media, both have racked up millions of followers.
But while Sabrina has been putting out music for years, with six albums out - and a seventh set for a summer release - Olivia's monumental success came after just two records, the last of which landed in 2023.
While the performers were already famous in their own right following years in the spotlight as child actors, one notorious 'love triangle' burst Sabrina and Olivia - as well as their mutual ex Joshua Bassett - into a newly huge global stage.
Twenty-four year old Joshua - also an actor and singer who got his start on the children's channel - has long been rumored to be the subject of Olivia's January 2021 breakup ballad Driver's License, which catapulted her to superstardom.
The pair reportedly dated while shooting the first two seasons of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which premiered on Disney+ in 2019.
Due to the assumptions made about the song, Joshua became a target online to Olivia's protective fanbase.
Fans also suspected that Sabrina was the 'other woman' referenced in the song's lyrics as Olivia notably sings about 'that blonde girl' who 'made [her] doubt' the relationship.
She also notes in the lyrics that the unnamed blonde is 'much older than me', which many took to refer to Olivia and Sabrina's three-year age difference.
But despite the pair's alleged romantic 'feud', Sabrina was seen showing her support for Olivia as she attended her BST Hyde Park gig in London on Friday.
The surprise appearance seemingly shocked fans and it wasn't long until pictures of the Espresso hitmaker were posted by various accounts on Instagram.
She was seen smiling, dancing and sipping on wine as Olivia took to the stage to headline the festival in the capital, appearing to put their reported love rivalry firmly behind her.
Sabrina was reportedly linked to Joshua in mid-2020 but they were broken up by 2021.
Shortly after Driver's License, Sabrina also released a song called Skin, which has been seen by many as retaliation.
The lyrics, seemingly addressing Olivia, go: 'Maybe we could have been friends; If I met you in another life; Maybe then we could pretend; There's no gravity in the words we write.
Fans also suspected that Sabrina was the 'other woman' referenced in the song's lyrics as Olivia notably sings about 'that blonde girl' who 'made [her] doubt' the relationship. Joshua and Olivia in 2019
'Maybe you didn't mean it; Maybe blonde was the only rhyme; The only rhyme.'
Elsewhere, Joshua himself also released a track thought to be associated with the drama, titled Lie Lie Lie.
'So they told me all the things that you said; Running all over my name, oh-oh-oh,' he sang.
'And you're acting, oh, so innocent; Like I'm the only one to blame.'
Olivia and her ex Joshua have never publicly confirmed or denied anything relating to their alleged romance and breakup.
The Deja Vu singer is now happily dating British actor Louis Partridge, while Sabrina was in a high-profile romance with Barry Keoghan throughout 2024.
Despite their previous drama, Olivia and Joshua showed that they had moved forward amicably when they reunited on the High School Musical season three premiere red carpet in 2022.
In interviews, Olivia has also stressed that there is no bad blood between them.
'I actually don't know her at all. I think we've met once or twice in passing, but I've never had a conversation with her,' she told Radio.com in 2021.
'So, I don't think I could write a song that was meaningful or emotional about somebody that I don't know. But I think artists should be able to write about whatever they want to write about.'
She also insisted that the identity of the person in the lyrics is the least important part of the song - albeit understanding the curiosity.
In 2021, Olivia released her album, Sour, and had gushed about Taylor being her 'mentor' - with the 35-year-old even calling the younger singer her 'daughter'
In an interview with Variety, she also remarked: 'I don't really subscribe to hating other women because of boys. I think that's so stupid, and I really resent that narrative that was being tossed around.'
Sabrina recently addressed the 'era' in her Rolling Stone interview, admitting she 'doesn't think about it, ever'.
Quipping at the 'blonde girl' lyric, she added: 'I've tried being brunette, and it didn't look good on me, so this is what it is.'
She has also addressed the backlash she got on social media following the drama, in a song titled All Because I Liked A Boy, where she sings about being called a 'homewrecker' and 's**t'.
The rumoured romantic rivalry isn't the only time the two women were pinned against one another.
After their global catapult to fame, the pair were also positioned against each other in the run-up to see which one would be hitmaker Taylor Swift's 'protégé'.
In 2021, Olivia released her album, Sour, and had gushed about Taylor being her 'mentor' - with the 35-year-old even calling the younger singer her 'daughter'.
She previously told Billboard that same year that the Bad Blood hitmaker had written to her after dropping hits such as Driver's License.
'I don't want to divulge too much because it's really sweet and personal. But she talks a lot about how, I think, you make your own luck in the world. And when you do kind things to others, good things come your way,' the actress explained.
However, she later faced copyright issues with some of the tracks, including Deja Vu.
The star had re-recorded a melody from Taylor's Cruel Summer, causing Rodrigo to later give both a co-writing credit as well as royalties to Swift. She later dealt with a similar situation with Paramore.
'I love Cruel Summer. That's one of my favorite songs ever. I love the yell-y vocal in it, the harmonized yells she does. I feel like they're super electric and moving, so I wanted to do something like that,' the beauty told Rolling Stone also in 2021.
Fans felt this led to a 'rift' between mentor and mentee.
In contrast, many thought she took Sabrina under her wing by using her as an opener for the Eras Tour - a move that further boosted her platform.
In 2023, listeners also suggested that Olivia's track Vampire, included on second studio album titled, Guts, was about Taylor.
Some lyrics that raised eyebrows included, 'As you sunk your teeth into me, oh/Bloodsucker, famef***er/Bleedin' me dry, like a godd**n vampire.'
When questioned about it by The Guardian, Olivia replied: 'How do I answer this? I mean, I never want to say who any of my songs are about.'
'I've never done that before in my career and probably won't. I think it's better to not pigeonhole a song to being about this one thing.'
Still, the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star said she was 'very surprised' when she learned that 'people thought' the track was about the Shake It Off singer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
BBC branded 'childish' as over half of Gregg Wallace's 'recipes are removed from broadcaster's food website' amid star's MasterChef axe
The BBC have been branded 'childish' by frustrated food lovers after over half of Gregg Wallace 's were reportedly removed from the broadcaster's food website. The disgraced MasterChef host, 60, was recently dismissed from the cooking show after more than 40 complaints against him were upheld following a BBC investigation. And in the wake of his axing, it appears that the BBC have taken further action as a number of his recipes appear to have vanished from BBC Food website, leaving some users angry. The Sun reports that six of 11 dishes by the former greengrocer have disappeared since Gregg was sacked last month. Fallen dishes are said to include a sausage and lentil soup, a raspberry marinated rack of lamb and mince pie ice-cream. One fan took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to complain about the removal, sparking a flurry of comments from other disgruntled people. The disgraced MasterChef host, 60, was recently dismissed from the cooking show after more than 40 complaints against him were upheld following a BBC investigation They penned: 'BBC Good Food have removed a recipe I liked from their website because it was from Gregg Wallace. Can't we separate the art from the artist.' To which others replied: ' Yeah, it's frustrating when good content disappears over drama... Shame though, recipes shouldn't need a moral background check.' 'Seems childish. I'm never going to stop listening to Michael Jackson - I don't care about his problematic private life.' 'Can't believe they're actually scrubbing recipes over this - feels like such an overreaction. If the market's already spoken on his content, let it be. Kinda reminds me of @EthanTaylorG7's point about letting audiences decide.' The publication reports that other website users fumed: 'another stupid cancellation by the BBC'. 'Whatever you think of the guy, it was hardly his recipes that were the problem.' Daily Mail have contacted the BBC for comment. It comes days after in its latest episode, with viewers declaring: 'Is this for real?' Just a handful of Gregg's recipes remain on the BBC Food website One fan took to X, formerly known as Twitter , to complain about the removal, sparking a flurry of comments from other disgruntled people Gregg and co-host John Torode were sacked after almost 20 years on the show by the BBC last month after an investigation upheld allegations about their poor behaviour. Wallace had 40 complaints upheld, including one where he was accused of wandering around set naked with a sock on his penis. Torode was found to have used a racist term in 2018. Their final series of MasterChef was filmed before they were both fired. The show's bosses have insisted on keeping them in the final edit - but only if they were on screen less and their banter and jokes were cut down to a minimum. Several contestants asked to be edited out themselves to avoid being on screen with them. Daily Mail revealed that viewers have pointed out 'disgraceful' edits in the new series on BBC One and iPlayer, with many cuts appearing awkward and repetitive, including those of Mr Wallace. In one scene shown last week, stills of Gregg pulling the same face three times in around a minute made it to air - with many suggesting that the BBC and production company Banijay used the same footage of the disgraced host repeatedly through the show. Some of his fans have even claimed the edits, where Gregg gives a semi-gurning smile, were deliberately to embarrass him and 'make him look demented'. TikTok user Gingernat Design shared a particularly unusual example, writing: 'Clever editing fromMasterchef TikTok user Gingernat Design shared a particularly unusual example, writing: 'Clever editing from MasterChef. 'Whether this is to do with the allegations or not I don't know, but it's jokes how they just froze Gregg Wallace for an entire conversation.' The now-viral clip sees a contestant discuss her performance with Torode and Wallace. The same shot of Wallace appears to be used three times in succession - and he is seen with a broad grin fixed on his face. The uncanny scene has horrified fans, who rushed to social media to express their disapproval.
Sky News
31 minutes ago
- Sky News
BBC and Channel 4 should 'merge' to survive, Sir Phil Redmond says
One of Britain's most legendary TV dramatists, Sir Phil Redmond, is no stranger to tackling difficult issues on screen. Courting controversy famously with his hard-hitting storylines on his children's show Grange Hill for the BBC in 1978, before he switched over to Channel 4 to give it its two most prominent soaps, Brookside (1982) and later Hollyoaks (1995). He's been a pivotal figure at Channel 4 from its inception, widely considered to be a father to the channel. Image: Sir Phil Redmond says the BBC and Channel 4 should team up to survive While he's been responsible for putting some of TV's most impactful storylines to air for them - from the first lesbian kiss, to bodies buried under patios - off-screen nowadays, he's equally radical about what should happen. "Channel 4's job in 1980 was to provide a platform for the voices, ideas, and people that weren't able to break through into television. They did a fantastic job. I was part of that, and now it's done." It's not that he wants to kill off Channel 4 but - as broadcasting bosses gather for Edinburgh's annual TV Festival - he believes they urgently should be talking about mergers. A suggestion which goes down about as well as you might imagine, he says, when he brings it up with those at the top. He laughs: "The people with the brains think it's a good idea, the people who've got the expense accounts think it's horrendous." Image: Some of the original Grange Hill cast collecting a BAFTA special award in 2001. Pic: Shutterstock A 'struggling' BBC trying to 'survive' With charter renewal talks under way to determine the BBC's future funding, Sir Phil says "there's only one question, and that is what's going to happen to the BBC?" "We've got two public sector broadcasters - the BBC and Channel 4 - both owned by the government, by us as the taxpayers, and what they're trying to do now is survive, right? "No bureaucracy ever deconstructs itself… the BBC is struggling… Channel 4 has got about a billion quid coming in a year. If you mix that, all the transmissions, all the back office stuff, all the technical stuff, all that cash… you can keep that kind of coterie of expertise on youth programming and then say 'don't worry about the money, just go out and do what you used to do, upset people!'." Image: Brookside's lesbian kiss between Margaret and Beth (L-R Nicola Stapleton and Anna Friel) was groundbreaking TV. Pic: Shutterstock How feasible would that be? Redmond claims, practically, you could pull it off in a week - "we could do it now, it's very simple, it's all about keyboards and switches". But the screenwriter admits that winning people over mentally to his way of thinking would take a few years of persuading. As for his thoughts on what could replace the BBC licence fee, he says charging people to download BBC apps on their phones seems like an obvious source of income. "There are 25 million licences and roughly 90 million mobile phones. If you put a small levy on each mobile phone, you could reduce the actual cost of the licence fee right down, and then it could just be tagged on to VAT. "Those parts are just moving the tax system around a bit. [then] you wouldn't have to worry about all the criminality and single mothers being thrown in jail, all this kind of nonsense." Image: Original Brookside stars at BAFTA - L:R: Michael Starke, Dean Sullivan, Claire Sweeney and Sue Jenkins. Pic: PA 'Subsidising through streaming is not the answer' Earlier this year, Peter Kosminsky, the director of historical drama Wolf Hall, suggested a levy on UK streaming revenues could fund more high-end British TV on the BBC. Sir Phil describes that as "a sign of desperation". "If you can't actually survive within your own economic basis, you shouldn't be doing it. "I don't think top slicing or subsidising one aspect of the business is the answer, you have to just look at the whole thing as a totality." Image: Mark Rylance (L) and Damian Lewis in Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light. Pic: BBC Since selling his production company, Mersey Television, two decades ago, much of his current work has focused on acting as an ambassador for the culture and creative industries. Although he's taken a step away from television, he admits he's disappointed by how risk-averse programme makers appear to have become. "Dare I say it? There needs to be an intellectual foundation to it all." Image: The Hollyoaks cast in 1995. Pic: Shutterstock TV's 'missing a trick' He believes TV bosses are too scared of being fined by Ofcom, and that's meant soaps are not going as far as they should. "The benefits [system], you know, immigration, all these things are really relevant subjects for drama to bring out all the arguments, the conflicts. "The majority of the people know the benefits system is broken, that it needs to be fixed because they see themselves living on their estate with a 10 or 12-year-old car and then there's someone else down the road who knows how to fill a form in, and he's driving around in a £65k BMW, right? Those debates would be really great to bring out on TV, they're missing a trick." While some of TV's biggest executives are slated to speak at the Edinburgh Television Festival, Redmond is not convinced they will be open to listening. "They will go where the perceived wisdom is as to where the industry is going. The fact that the industry is taking a wrong turn, we really need somebody else to come along and go 'Oi!'" When I ask if that could be him, he laughs. Cue dramatic music and closing credits. As plot twists go, the idea of one of TV's most radical voices making a boardroom comeback to stir the pot, realistic or not, is at the very least food for thought for the industry. Edinburgh TV Festival runs from 19 - 22 August.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Music to die for: List of funeral favourite songs released
The most popular songs played at funerals have been revealed, with Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman's Time To Say Goodbye top of the list. Co-op Funeralcare said its study of songs over the past year at funerals it arranged showed the second most popular was Frank Sinatra's My Way. Tina Turner's The Best and Westlife's You Raise Me Up were also in the top 10. The Co-op said the top 10 were: 1. Time to Say Goodbye – Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman2. My Way – Frank Sinatra3. Somewhere Over The Rainbow – Eva Cassidy4. You'll Never Walk Alone – Liverpool FC5. The Best – Tina Turner6. Supermarket Flowers – Ed Sheeran7. Wind Beneath My Wings – Bette Midler8. Abide With Me (hymn)9. We'll Meet Again – Vera Lynn10. You Raise Me Up – Westlife Liverpool FC's You'll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers topped a list of sports-themed songs played at funerals. Among the quirky songs played at funerals over the last year, included Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead from The Wizard of Oz, Dance Monkey by Tones & I, the Jaws movie soundtrack, and We Like To Party by Vengaboys. Gill Stewart, managing director at Co-op Funeralcare said: 'Music has a powerful way of bringing back memories, reflecting our personalities, and connecting us to loved ones. 'Choosing a song that is meaningful to you can be an important part of saying goodbye, whether it's a traditional hymn or something light-hearted and quirky. 'While every funeral is unique and deeply personal, our annual music chart highlights the tracks that continue to resonate across the nation. 'This year, we're continuing to encourage open conversations around end-of-life planning. 'Talking about the music you'd like at your funeral is a simple yet meaningful step and can offer real comfort to those left behind.' The research was conducted among Co-op's funeral directors and arrangers during May and June 2025 based on more than 90,000 funerals conducted in the last 12 months.
