Did Sabrina Carpenter’s “Skin” really respond to Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license”? 

Sabrina Carpenter is getting candid on the alleged drama between her, Joshua Bassett, and Olivia Rodrigo.

The Please Please Please songstress has long dodged questions about a possible love triangle between them, as well as rumors have been flying that she's the “blonde girl” Rodrigo laments over in her famed track drivers license, which was allegedly about her breakup with Basset.

In her 2021 song, "Skin," Sabrina Carpenter sings, “Maybe blonde was the only rhyme.” When probed about what she meant during an interview with Rolling Stone, the artist said:

“I didn’t really intentionally do that. All I knew was that it wasn’t going to stop me from doing what I loved, ever. That’s kind of how I’ve always felt. Sometimes, it’s about how you are able to be resilient.”

In retrospect, that era was a time of growth for her:

“What that era taught me was to just trust myself, and trust that everything is going to work out the way it’s supposed to, and trust that relationships are put into your life for a reason,” she added. “You might not see that in the moment, but you see it later.”

She also immediately dispelled the notion that she could still be hung up on the rumored drama:

“I don’t think about it, ever [...] I’ve tried being ­brunette, and it didn’t look good on me, so this is what it is.”

Scroll down to know all about the drama between the former Disney child star trio.

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The drama between Sabrina Carpenter, Joshua Bassett, and Olivia Rodrigo explored:

Back in 2021, Olivia dropped her diver's license, which caused a stir online, with many suspecting that it was an ode to her and Joshua Bassett's alleged breakup. At the time, fans also thought that the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series actress seemed to throw shade at Basset's then-co-star, Sabrina Carpenter, with her breakout track.

While their relationship was never officially confirmed, the internet was quick to draw parallels:

“And you’re probably with that blonde girl / Who always made me doubt / She’s so much older than me,” Olivia sings on the track.

Back when the song came out, Sabrina Carpenter was 21, while Rodrigo was 17.

Not long after, the Girl Meets World alum dropped "Skin," which told the tale of a girl hoping to connect with the person she's singing about, but in the meantime, she was just happy to be telling her side of the story.

Once again, fans were quick to speculate that the track was a response, though Sabrina Carpenter dispelled the notion when she sat down for an interview on The Late Late Show With James Corden in February 2021. She said at the time:

“I genuinely was coming from a place as a 21-year-old that is navigating her feelings and was going through a lot in my personal life,”

She added further,

“The reoccurring theme was I was allowing people to get under my skin. I wrote from that place of knowing that there was so many different experiences that will continue to happen to me in my life where I kind of have to remind myself that people can only get to you if you allow them to and you give them that access to.”

She continued:

“People will make a narrative about something always. I think this was a really interesting song for people to kind of misinterpret and make it into something that it wasn’t really supposed to be in the first place. But I’ve just been enjoying making music.”

In January that same year, Sabrina Carpenter penned a direct statement to Rodrigo's famed track on her Instagram Stories, as well as the inspiration for Skin:

“I wasn’t bothered by a few lines in a (magnificent) song and wrote a diss track about it,” she wrote. “i was at a tipping point in my life for countless reasons. so i was inspired to do what i usually do to cope, write something that i wish i could have told myself in the past. people can only get to you if you give them the power to. and a lot of people were trying to get to me. the song isn’t calling out one single person. some lines address a specific situation, while other lines address plenty of other experiences I’ve had this past year.. it also shows that many things have actually gotten under my skin.. and I’m still learning to not give other people so much power over my feelings. I know a lot of you struggle with the same thing.”

The 26-year-old singer concluded by calling on fans to end the cycle of hatred. Joshua Bassett, on the other hand, reacted to Sabrina Carpenter's new song by congratulating her on his Instagram Story:

"Been stuck in my head since I heard it!!! Congratulations @sabrinacarpenter on 'skin,' the new label, & all that's to come!!!"

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