Did Olivia Rodrigo’s team ask a cafe to remove Taylor Swift’s photos? Bluebird Cafe’s manager addresses viral rumor 

Recent speculation surrounding Olivia Rodrigo has made headlines after a viral video led to claims that her team requested the removal of Taylor Swift’s photos from the iconic Bluebird Café in Nashville.

The management of the café has since responded to the controversy, explaining that there was no such request and why the photos were temporarily removed. In a video posted to X on Wednesday, June 18, the general manager and COO, Erica Nichols, pledged to "bring some truth" to "questions and discussion" online.

"We did have a filming with Olivia Rodrigo here. Olivia's people did not ask us to remove an image of Taylor Swift. Nobody did. We removed an image of Taylor Swift that was in a position where the filming was taking place," she said.

She added that during filming, there is a legally obligation to "remove images that are under copyright." Since they did not own the images, she explained how the café's team could not give "permission for those images to be used in any kind of broadcast."

Nichols continued by saying that the employee who talked out of turn about it was not aware of why the picture was removed.

"He spoke carelessly and haphazardly about it, maybe trying to be funny, I don't know. But regardless, that image was removed for legal reasons. Please understand this was not anything in between two artists. We support all songwriters, all artists and give them equal share," she said.

She continued:

"It was a mistake on the part of the employee, and I'm here to clear that up so you know that this was something that we were just required to do for legal reasons."

The manager said the remaining images of Swift remained there, and other photographs throughout the room were taken down.

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The Olivia Rodrigo–Taylor Swift rumors reignite over Bluebird café video

The Bluebird Café manager spoke out following a video spread online in which a worker said that the restaurant cleared the place with "any visible sign of Taylor Swift before [Rodrigo] performed there in 2023."

In the video, the staff member asserted that Rodrigo had a performance before her Guts album release.

Someone off-camera enquired:

"And what happened before she started playing? What did you guys do? What was the amendment that you made?"

The employee said that they "vowed to remove any visible signs of Taylor Swift," and that they "respect the girlies."

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Olivia Rodrigo dismisses beef with Taylor Swift

In June 2023, Olivia Rodrigo released Vampire, the lead single from her sophomore album Guts. The lyrics, notably describing a “bloodsucker, fame-f–––r” who “bleedin’ me dry like a goddamn vampire,” created a rumor that she was addressing someone manipulative.

Fans quickly confessed that they thought she was talking about Taylor Swift after all the lines were connected to earlier copyright allegations against her.

Olivia Rodrigo, however, has always denied personal tension. During a September 2023 interview with Rolling Stone, she said:

"I don’t have beef with anyone. I’m very chill. I keep to myself. I have my four friends and my mom, and that’s really the only people I talk to, ever. There’s nothing to say… There’s so many Twitter conspiracy theories. I only look at alien-conspiracy theories."

She stated that she liked to leave her songwriting to interpretation and not peg any song to a particular individual.