Three sides to every story. Sabrina Carpenter released her new song, “Skin,” on Friday, January 22 — and fans are convinced that it is her response to Olivia Rodrigo’s hit, “Drivers License.”
The drama between the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series costars began on January 8 with the release of “Drivers License,” which has since topped the Billboard Hot 100. In the streaming smash, Rodrigo, 17, sings about a “blonde girl who always made me doubt,” changing the “brunette girl” line from an earlier version of the song that she had teased via Instagram.
Rodrigo also seemingly sings about Joshua Bassett, to whom she was romantically linked before rumors swirled that he moved on with Carpenter, 21. “Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me,” she belts in “Drivers License,” an apparent nod to Bassett’s 2020 track “Anyone Else.”
In the midst of the drama, the Stuck in the Middle alum, 20, released a song of his own, “Lie, Lie, Lie,” on January 14, in which he croons, “You can’t seem to get me off your mind / Oh, I know you’re lying through your teeth.”
While the lyrics to Bassett’s single were a bit more vague, fans immediately came to the conclusion that Carpenter’s “Skin” is about him and Rodrigo after it dropped at midnight on Friday. The Girl Meets World alum has not publicly commented on the social media theories, but one of the most telling lines from her song goes, “Maybe ‘blonde’ was the only rhyme,” in what seems to be a clear jab at Rodrigo.
In recent weeks, the former Bizaardvark star has repeatedly dodged questions about whether “Drivers License” was inspired by the apparent love triangle. She told Billboard on Wednesday, January 20, “I totally understand people’s curiosity with the specifics of who the song’s about and what it’s about, but to me, that’s really the least important part of the song. It’s resonating with people because of how emotional it is, and I think everything else is not important.”
Scroll down for five lyrics from “Skin” that seemingly take aim at Rodrigo.
The first two lines of Carpenter’s song confirm that it is about someone she has had issues with in the past.
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The most evident lyric in “Skin” appears to tackle the line that Rodrigo switched up in her own track.
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Carpenter is seemingly well aware that most people have heard her castmate’s debut single (even Taylor Swift praised it), and now she hopes to have a chance to share her truth.
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One of the few lyrics that fans believe to be about Bassett teases how close he and Carpenter have gotten (literally).
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The bridge of “Skin” appears to reference the title of Rodrigo’s hit.
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