Joshua Bassett just dropped three new songs, and some angered fans are convinced the lyrics
to one of them take direct aim at Olivia Rodrigo, So now Joshua is now begging fans to stop
the hate and to keep the peace. Let’s get into it.
Almost an entire year ago, Olivia Rodrigo released her debut single “drivers license”
where it was generally assumed that she had taken aim at former flame Joshua Bassett,
but almost an entire year later, fans are now seeing “deja vu” after Joshua’s
newly released single “Crisis” appears to take aim right back at her.
Although he did release music earlier this year, apparently now, it’s Joshua’s turn
to speak his truth as he announced the release of three new songs on Thursday called “Secret”,
“Crisis” and “Set Me Free”, with each song also accompanied by music videos.
Fans immediately honed in on the lyrics to his songs, especially considering many of
Olivia’s songs including “Good 4 U”, “Traitor”, and “deja vu” were said
to have centered around her relationship with Joshua, and come to find out, many were not
thrilled with one song in particular.
In his song “Crisis”, Josh seems to have explicitly addressed the love triangle between
he, Olivia and Sabrina Carpenter that made headlines all of this last year, as he sings
lyrics that read, “And if you get to tell your truth, then so do I / And it's cool if
you want me to play the bad guy.”
Josh goes on to add, “But don't you dare act like I didn't love you / Don't go thinkin'
that I didn't hurt too / Don't you ever wonder if I'm okay after all you put me through?
/ Half the s**t you're sayin' is only half true.”
The bridge of his song suggests that she was the one who left in the first place, and that
it was her idea to call things off, but regardless of who initiated what during their time together,
fans were quick to call him out for suggesting that Olivia used their situation for fame.
One person tweeted, “I wanted to give his feelings and his side complete validation…but
damn, those lyrics were pretty cringe. Mocking Olivia Rodrigo for using their relationship
to further her career while doing the exact same? Make it make sense.”
Others are wondering how we’re still talking about this relationship, like this user, who
tweeted, “No because I thought I was done talking about Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo,
instead he had to go and eat her up with ‘Crisis.’
But this fan might’ve said it perfectly, reiterating the fact that there is no right
or wrong when it comes to how two people recall their own experiences, adding, “Remember
guys, it’s okay to be intrigued by both Liv & Josh songs because all music tells a
story, but don’t send hate to either. There’s two TRUTHS to every story!”
This, along with many of the experiences Josh went through this year, especially after suffering
a medical near-death experience and intense homophobia after coming out to his fans, is
likely why he took to Instagram following the release of his new songs to urge them
to stop the hate.
In a since-deleted message on his Instagram page, he started out by calling 2021 “the
most challenging year of my life,” and thanked fans for their continued support, saying,
“Thank you for seeing me, and each other, as living, breathing, healing and hurting
human beings.”
Josh went on to say, “Due to the nature of pop culture, and the current public perspective,
there will be a lot of loud voices in this next chapter — positive, negative and everywhere
in between,” and with that, he urged fans to keep spreading kindness.
He added, “All I ask is you treat everyone with respect and love. Anyone who sends hate
on my ‘behalf’ is no fan of mine.”
He also revealed that 100% of the proceeds from “Crisis” will be donated to mental
health organizations, and has already donated $1 for every new pre-save to Bring Change
to Mind, Jack.org, and Beyond Blue and Mind U-K.
As for where Josh and Olivia currently stand, he revealed to GQ that she hasn’t spoken
to him since the release of “drivers license” back in January.
He recalled intense trauma following the song’s release, saying, “I would see TikToks with
like 50 million views and 10 million likes saying, ‘If I ever see that kid on the street,
I'm going to f**king kill him.’ It's hard to see that and then be living in New York
and walking down the street.”
He also admitted that he’s “tried to talk to Olivia since the aftermath, but she “hasn't
spoken to me since ‘drivers license’ came out,” but he feels he has “a right to
stand up for [himself].”
He went on to reveal to the mag,“I'm glad that it's taken this long [to release the
songs]. I finally found the courage to speak up for myself.”
Everyone deserves to speak their truth, and no matter what side you feel the need to take,
just remember to spread kindness to those who are navigating through heartbreak, loss,
and picking up the pieces as best they can.
For details on some of the hardships that Joshua’s faced over the past year, click
right over here to watch another Clevver News video.
And there’s a ton to unpack here, but I’m curious to know all your thoughts on “Crisis”
and if you guys think Josh was taking aim at Olivia, so get to talking down here in
the comments.
I’m your host Carly Henderson, you can find me on my socials @carlyhenderson_, and I’ll
catch you next time!