Why I Don’t Care If It’s a Publicity Stunt
graphic by bailey kretschmer
“RED LIGHTS. STOP SIGNS.” Anyone with a TikTok knows that lyric comes next. The recently released song “driver’s license” by Olivia Rodrigo literally broke the internet and our hearts along with it. But is the song really based on a true melodramatic teen breakup as super-fans have suggested? Or is all of this he-said-she-said just a major PR stunt for fame?
As many of us did, we watched High School Musical: The Musical: The Series in the first two weeks of lockdown back when we thought quarantine would just be a fad. We relished the fictional relationship between characters Nina and Richard aka Troy and Gabriella aka celebs Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett. But when news broke that this fictitious relationship had actually grown into true love off-set - fans were HOOKED. But here we are, months after the season aired, wondering whether Bassett told Rodrigo, “I Gotta Go My Own Way.”
Here’s the rundown: Rodrigo, 17 at the time, and Bassett, 19 at the time, were rumored to be potentially romantically involved off-screen. A ~little~ illegal, but hey if there was consent then who are we to judge. Bassett was then spotted in a couple’s Halloween costume with Sabrina Carpenter, 21, and rumors began to fly that they were an item. In case you forgot, Carpenter is that Disney star from the female-centric remake of Boy Meets World.
After Rodrigo dropped "driver's license,” the crazy theorizing began, starting with the line “you’re probably with that blonde girl.” People jumped at the chance to assign this to Carpenter, even though Rodrigo sang a draft of this song before it was released with the lyric originally using the word “brunette,” which indicates the “blonde” lyric could be completely meaningless. Clearly, people aren’t doing their research… The other lyric people flocked to analyze was, “she’s so much older than me/she’s everything I’m insecure about,” which again seems to reference Carpenter, who is four years Rodrigo’s senior.
On top of all of this, people began to dig up past comments that have been made about Rodrigo and Bassett’s relationship, including the fact that Bassett taught her how to drive. In many people’s opinions, this is where the PR kicked in and urged Bassett to drop his new song, “Lie Lie Lie,” and Carpenter to drop her song, “Skin,” while they remained in the limelight. Both of these songs, while arguably not even about Rodrigo, felt targeted to fans, especially because of their release so soon after Rodrigo’s song. These (arguably sub-par) songs only served to fuel the conversation around the situation.
While maybe this entire drama was just a major PR stunt to promote their new music, it is hard not to buy into it at least for the ~drama~ if nothing else. Critics, and by critics I mean the sinister twelve-year-olds on TikTok, argue that we should all “know better” and not give these B-list celebs the satisfaction of buying into this artificiality of fame. However, if it isn’t hurting anyone, there is no downside to believing these little melodramatic stories about favorite (or least favorite) famous people. Especially right now, in the midst of the pandemic, where the biggest drama in our own lives is whether we are getting Schine or Ernie for dinner tonight.
While the concept of snooty PR teams creating false celebrity drama to appeal to “lowbrow culture” might be somewhat messy in nature, it’s no different than watching a reality show. Gossiping about "driver's license" drama or who went home on The Bachelor is much healthier than gossiping about people you know in real life…
... SO WHO’S TEAM OLIVIA???