The Girls are OK

According to the internet, Paul McCartney’s distinction, for a younger generation of gossips, at least, is that he’s a pacifier, a bridge, a healer. Yes, of course, he’s a legendary musician, a member of one of the greatest bands in history…but today, his accomplishment is Feud Terminator. Maybe.

Paul’s show at the Fonda Theater in LA this weekend brought out so many celebrities, including Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo. You’ll recall, they were friends at first, when Olivia broke out, and then the fan consensus seems to be that the two fell out over songwriting credits as both fandoms dissected lyrics to see if one was shading the other in their songs.

Over the last couple of years though, especially at award shows when Taylor’s been in attendance and Olivia has performed, there’s been nothing to suggest that either one has been holding onto whatever beef. Taylor has been seen dancing and singing along during Olivia’s performances, and Olivia has not engaged in any more commentary about the situation.

Then, at the Paul McCartney concert, they were seen in the same frame, chatting with a bigger group of people, not necessarily standing next to each other, and not even in conversation – but it’s been enough for social media to declare that peace has been achieved.

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The other character in this saga is Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia’s other nemesis (over Joshua Bassett but no one cares about this anymore), who became super close to Taylor after Taylor and Olivia allegedly cut ties. Sabrina was at the show too.

I haven’t seen footage of Sabrina anywhere near Taylor or Olivia but given all this history – or “lore”, as they say in these times – it’s enough to keep the internet busy for at least 48 hours. And it’s not like there’s ever a shortage of “lore” where Taylor is concerned because John Mayer was also present and that’s a whole other B plot.

But this is how Taylor Swift built a metaverse. Because in addition to the prolific songwriting, there’s also the drama, and the drama enhances the songs, and the songs re-active the drama, an endless trail of narratives to follow that unlocks new hidden doors all the time, within a simulation that she manipulates and controls better than anyone else. Right now, the mood in the metaverse seem to be that the girls are OK.

Attached - Sabrina Carpenter leaving Paul McCartney's concert with Joey King.