Back in 2021, Taylor Swift fans accused breakout pop star Olivia Rodrigo of ripping off Swift’s 2019 song “Cruel Summer” in her Sour single “deja vu.” Admitting she took inspiration from Swift for the song’s bridge, Rodrigo retroactively awarded the “Karma” singer a songwriting credit, along with co-writers Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent’s Annie Clark. Although the two pop divas have been publicly supportive of one another, rumors of a feud continued to swirl. Those rumors gained new life after an employee of Nashville’s famed Bluebird Cafe claimed that the restaurant once removed “any visible signs of Taylor Swift” at the behest of Rodrigo’s team. Now, the cafe’s general manager has stepped forward to clear the air.
Did Olivia Rodrigo Ask This Nashville Establishment To Remove Photos of Taylor Swift?
In a video shared to X/Twitter Wednesday (June 18), Bluebird Cafe General Manager Erika Wollam Nichols said she would “bring some truth” to online discussions surrounding Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo.
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Nichols explained that the venue did remove a visible photo of Swift from its walls when Rodrigo filmed there. However, they did so for copyright reasons, not at the request of the “vampire” singer’s team.
“Olivia’s people did not ask us to remove an image of Taylor Swift,” she said. “Nobody did… We don’t own those images, so we cannot give permission for those images to be used in any kind of broadcast.”
Bluebird Cafe General Manager Erika Wollam Nichols clarifies some questions we’ve received: pic.twitter.com/wHyIYDd3a3
— The Bluebird Cafe (@BluebirdCafeTN) June 18, 2025
The restaurant manager went on to chastise the employee making those claims for speaking “carelessly” and “haphazardly.”
“Please understand this was not anything in between two artists. We support all songwriters, all artists and give them equal share,” Nichols said. She added that both Swift and Rodrigo “live extremely high in our regard.”
“We Respect the Girlies”
Nichols spoke out in response to a video circulating social media. In the clip, a Bluebird Cafe employee claimed that Olivia Rodrigo’s team asked the venue to scrub any signs of Taylor Swift ahead of her 2023 performance there.
Olivia Rodrigo and her team apparently had asked The Bluebird Cafe to remove any visible sign of Taylor Swift before she performed there in 2023
— Taylor Swift Data (@spotify_swift) June 18, 2025
This allegation is claimed by the Cafe's employee in a newly shared videopic.twitter.com/t4h3wTARq0
“In the Bluebird Cafe? It’s that serious?” asked someone off-camera.
“We respect the girlies,” replied the employee.
Swift was just 14 years old when she performed at Bluebird Cafe for the first time on Nov. 4, 2004.That’s when she caught the eye of record executive Scott Borchetta, who signed her as the flagship artist for new label Big Machine Records. Two years later, she released her self-titled debut album, launching an unprecedented career.
Featured image courtesy of Taylor Swift via Instagram
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