In 2022, over a year after Olivia Rodrigo’s musical debut, the drama that surrounded the release of “drivers license” is basically as well known as any storybook fairytale. Once upon a time, there was Olivia and Josh, and then there was Josh and Sabrina, and then a little pop song about learning to drive turned into a full-on war against anyone responsible for breaking Olivia’s heart.

A year ago, if you were to check the comment sections on Joshua Bassett and Sabrina’s Carpenter’s Instagram posts, you would be engulfed into a world of hate that ranged from passive-aggressive comments to full-on-aggressive death threats. 

Although Rodrigo never stated the song was about Bassett and Carpenter, she never denied it either, nor did she condemn the hate her fans targeted towards the two. But should she have?

While the “drivers license” drama is among the most extreme examples of fans acting without artist interference, Rodrigo certainly isn’t the only culprit. 

When Taylor Swift released a re-recording of her 2012 album, Red, this past November, her fans instantly went on the attack. Rather than Bassett, Red’s victim was Swift’s ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal, whom it is greatly assumed “All Too Well” is written about. You probably couldn’t log into any social media without seeing the phrase “fuck Jake Gyllenhaal” during the weeks that the album made its return to the charts. What you did not see during this period was Swift saying anything to condemn this hatred. 

Once again, should she have?

In today’s age of social media and parasocial celebrity relationships, it is so easy for fans to take their interpretation of art to an extreme. Very little is known about the Rodrigo/Bassett relationship, including whether or not they actually dated, but fans have filled in the blanks on their own and made up their minds on anything unconfirmed. 

When imagination gets the best of fans, though, when is it the artist's job to step in? Does it sacrifice the audience’s ability to interpret art how they feel it should be interpreted?

Ella Fishman (‘24) thinks not. 

“Even if you don’t want to publicly say a song is or isn’t about a certain person, it’s still entirely possible to say to your fanbase: thank you so much for your support, but sending death threats is not the way to support me,” says Fishman. This does not take away from fans’ ability to interpret who the artist is singing about, like in the case of Rodrigo, but it does draw a line regarding what behavior is appropriate.

Nicole Spirito (‘24) agrees, and notes that when Bassett released his own music in the months following the drama, he made sure to include a disclaimer.

“He basically said: it’s music. People have different sides to their studies and this is how they’re expressing themselves, so… don’t attack anyone,” Spirito explains. While Bassett never stated his music was about Rodrigo, despite a few not-so-subtle references that implied so, he was able to simultaneously leave his art up to interpretation while also preventing fans from crossing any lines. 

Yet, while Bassett took a different approach than Rodrigo, how necessary is it for an artist to speak up? We can look back at Swift, whose breakups with Gyllenhaal and John Mayer have prompted negative attention towards the two. Her 2010 song “Dear John,” predicted to be re-released in the coming year, tore Mayer’s character to shreds. Like Bassett, Mayer recently found his DMs flooded with death threats.

In the eyes of Bailey Kasprzyk (‘22), the two situations aren’t necessarily comparable despite similar fan attacks, given the effects on the victims’ careers. 

“It wasn’t like, everyone hates John Mayer,” Kasprzyk says, in reference to the way people turned on Bassett. “John Mayer is still very popular, Jake Gyllenhaal is still very successful. I don’t think it’s the same because it doesn't affect them the way it affects a young person.” Bassett was just starting his career, whereas Gyllenhaal and Mayer were established. For Swift’s fans to use her writing as justification for their hatred may be seen as punching up. 

Yet, whether it is punching up or punching down, is it necessary to be throwing any punches in the first place? 

There’s really no clear cut answer. Different artists choose to be involved in their own ways, and the most that we as consumers can do is take their art in a way that is personal to ourselves, with interpretation coming from the heart.