In February 2023, Olivia Rodrigo’s father, Ronald Rodrigo, retweeted a fan post about the difference between “stealing and inspiring.” Some readers took the repost as shade at artists connected to songwriting credits on Olivia Rodrigo songs, but the post did not identify anyone—and Ronald’s intended target is unconfirmed.
What Ronald Rodrigo reposted
On 10 February 2023, POPline reported that Ronald Rodrigo had retweeted a fan’s message praising Elvis Costello for not demanding songwriting credit from artists whose work resembled his. The fan post criticized unnamed artists who had pursued credits from Olivia Rodrigo and said Costello understood the difference between “stealing and inspiring.” Those were the fan’s words, not a statement by Ronald Rodrigo or Costello. POPline
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The repost drew attention in the context of Olivia Rodrigo’s encounter with Costello at a pre-Grammy event and longstanding comparisons between her song “brutal” and Costello’s “Pump It Up.” POPline reported that some social-media users interpreted the post as referring to Paramore, Taylor Swift, or both. It did not establish whom Ronald meant, or whether he had a particular person in mind.
Why fans speculated about Paramore and Taylor Swift
Paramore became part of the discussion because the band’s members were associated with songwriting credits on “good 4 u.” Taylor Swift’s name was also suggested online: her writing credit was included from the release of “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back.” But the repost itself did not name either artist, and the reporting does not confirm a feud or a demand for credit by either one. POPline
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The songwriting comparisons were different cases
Several separate songs and credit histories were often grouped together in online arguments about plagiarism. ABC News Australia’s 2021 explainer distinguished them: ABC News Australia
| Olivia Rodrigo song | Earlier song or artist discussed | Credit history reported |
|---|---|---|
| “good 4 u” | Paramore’s “Misery Business” (2007); listeners compared the songs. | Paramore songwriting credits were later added, according to ABC and PAPER. The credit listing by itself does not establish wrongdoing or motive. ABC; PAPER |
| “brutal” | Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up” (1978); the songs were compared. | The cited explainer discusses the comparison; it does not report a songwriting credit added to “brutal.” ABC News Australia |
| “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back” | Taylor Swift’s “New Year’s Day” (2017); Rodrigo acknowledged using its chord progression. | Swift and producer Jack Antonoff had writing credits from the song’s release, as ABC reported. ABC News Australia |
| “déjà vu” | Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer”; the songs were compared. | Swift, Antonoff and Annie Clark (St. Vincent) were added as co-writers after release, according to ABC and PAPER. The credit history does not alone establish a finding of plagiarism. ABC; PAPER |
These examples involve different musical relationships and credit timelines. ABC’s explainer notes that songs can share common chord structures and discusses interpolation as a recognized compositional practice. Similarity, a songwriting credit, and a legal finding are not interchangeable. The reports cited here describe comparisons, allegations and credit discussions; they do not establish an adjudicated finding that Rodrigo plagiarized.
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Artwork disputes were separate from the music debate
Other public comparisons concerned visual design, not songwriting. The Guardian reported that Courtney Love criticized the promotional artwork for Rodrigo’s Sour Prom by comparing it with Hole’s Live Through This cover. The article also described online comparisons between imagery in Rodrigo’s “good 4 u” video and the aesthetic of Pom Pom Squad. These were separate visual-design disputes, not evidence about the musical comparisons. The Guardian
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the phrase “plagiarism claims” does—and doesn’t—mean here
In this story, “plagiarism claims” is a broad label for public allegations and comparisons, not a reported court judgment. The cases should be kept distinct: identify the songs or artwork being compared, say whether the point is a listener comparison or a reported credit change, and attribute interpretations of Ronald Rodrigo’s repost to the people who made them. Without a named target in the repost, it is not accurate to say he definitively attacked Paramore or Taylor Swift.
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ABC quoted intellectual-property scholar Dr Kylie Pappalardo explaining the tension between copying a whole work and drawing on elements to create something new. She said: “It makes sense to restrain people from coming along and copying the song exactly as it is, and sticking it up for people to download for free or whatever. But it doesn’t make sense to restrain the kinds copying that we saw in Blurred Lines, and that we are seeing in all these other cases, where it is not a straight-up copying of the entire work, it’s taking elements of that work to create something new.” This is Pappalardo’s view, as quoted by ABC, not a court holding. ABC News Australia
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