Sabrina Carpenter is setting the record straight in the whole Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett boyfriend stealing drama, with her new song “Skin.”
Relationship drama is never good for those in the relationship, however it’s great for us nosey onlookers. The latest relationship drama in the pop culture world involves the newest batch of Disney stars. It all started, when Disney Plus wanted to capitalize on the awesomeness that is High School Musical. One of the streaming service’s first original series was High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Long name for a show, I know. The show stars Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett and a bunch of others who don’t matter in this story. How does Sabrina Carpenter fit into this? Let me explain.
Drivers License
The drama truly starts when Olivia released her song Drivers License. The song talks about a failed relationship, which most likely ended because the guy cheated. Fans were quick to jump to conclusions and assume it’s about her relationship with HSMTMTS costar Joshua Bassett. There are some lyrics such as “I guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me,” which can be alluding to Joshua’s songs he wrote when they were together.
As if accusing your boyfriend of cheating isn’t bad enough, things get even messier when she reveals, kind of, who he cheated with! The lyrics say, “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.” For those as out of the loop as I am, Sabrina Carpenter is 21, Joshua Bassett is 20 and Olivia Rodrigo is 17. Sabrina is also blonde. Joshua and Sabrina, are also now rumored to be together. It truly does not take a genius to figure this one out.
Lie, Lie, Lie
If Olivia thought this would all end with her song, she could not have been more wrong. Joshua Bassett then released his own song addressing the breakup. Seems he doesn’t take to well to being called a cheater. Based off the title of his song, I think we can all assume what he thinks of Olivia’s version of events. In his version of events, Olivia has a much bigger role in their breakup, than she cares to let on.
His song says, “they told me all the things that you said, runnin’ all over my name. And you’re acting, oh, so innocent, like I’m the only one to blame.” This song definitely makes him seem like more of a scorned lover than a cheater. It’s also a really combative song, so to me it seems way to defensive and like he’s trying hard to prove himself. For some reason, I choose to believe Olivia’s point of view. I think Sabrina’s next move, led me to this decision more than anything.
Skin
So, Sabrina Carpenter was not about to let all this drama happen, without putting her two cents in. I’m not sure if this is an effort to clear her name, or just confirm to Olivia that a relationship between her and Joshua exists. She came out with her own song about this whole situation, entitled “Skin.” While Bassett doesn’t straight up reference Olivia’s song in his, Sabrina goes there. There is no question as to what she is singing about.
The song starts off by saying she hoped they could have been friends if things were different. She then directly references Drivers License singing maybe you didn’t mean it, maybe ‘blonde’ was the only rhyme.” She also tells the girl she’s singing to not to DRIVE herself crazy. I mean, come on. It doesn’t take a code master to break this code. This part of the song makes me thing she’s hurt, but then she also sings, “you can try to get under my, under my, under my skin while he’s on mine.” This to me sounded like she was mocking her. At least she ended it with hope that they might be friends in the future.
Now do you get why her song makes me think he actually did cheat on Olivia with her? I’m not truly invested in this drama, however I am impressed at how quickly these kids wrote, recorded and released their responses. Plus, it’s a good distraction from my quarantine boredom. It’s really hitting me guys, I don’t know what to do anymore. Also, they aren’t bad songs. I actually liked them.
Who Supports Who
Olivia lost a boyfriend, but she has gained a fan, and a pretty famous one. Taylor Swift publicly came out it support of Rodrigo and her song. Also, it seems like a majority of her HSMTMTS costars chose her over Bassett. It’s going to be a real awkward first day back on set for him. Bassett furthered the divide when he came out in support of Sabrina’s song on his Instagram story. Although they haven’t actually confirmed they are dating, I think it’s pretty obvious just based off everyone’s reactions. This is like a 2021 version of the Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston love triangle. Everything comes full circle in Hollywood.
Which song is your favorite? Who’s side are you on in all this? Let me know in the comments!