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Phoebe Bridgers’s New Song Has Fans Convinced She’s Beefing With Gracie Abrams

Updated 3 hours ago, August 17, 2026

For the past few weeks, the internet has been doing what it does best: taking a handful of lyrics, a complicated celebrity relationship history and several years of pop-culture lore, and turning them into a (potentially imaginary) full-blown feud.

Gracie Abrams at the 2026 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City — At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, Gracie Abrams arrives for the 2026 Met Gala, themed “Costume Art,” on May 4, 2026. Photo by Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images.

Here’s what happened: Phoebe Bridgers’s new album, Lost Weekend, includes a track called “The Governor’s Waltz.” The song references a woman who can “pretend to be me” and takes the writer’s place “in my bed” and “on that stage.” It doesn’t take much imagination to understand why listeners immediately connected those lyrics to Abrams.

Phoebe Bridgers arriving at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2023 at The Royal Opera House in London — At The Royal Opera House in London on November 15, 2023, Phoebe Bridgers attends the GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2023. Photo by Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images.

After all, Abrams is now dating Bridgers’s ex.

Bridgers dated Paul Mescal in 2020 and went public with their relationship in 2021. They split in 2022. Mescal later began dating Abrams, with their relationship becoming public in 2024.

A woman in a beaded halter gown and a man in a black tuxedo with a brooch pose together on the Met Gala red carpet steps. — At New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2022, Phoebe Bridgers and Paul Mescal made their entrance at the Met Gala’s “In America: An Anthology of Fashion.” Photo by Taylor Hill / Getty Images.

Fans have also noticed that Abrams shows have incorporated an aesthetic that fans have associated with Bridgers. For instance, Abrams used a set that included a bed with rocket-themed bedding during The Secret of Us era. Fans have compared it to photographs of a Bridgers performance from years earlier and cited it as evidence that Abrams was intentionally ripping off her vibe.

There is no public feud. Neither musician has ever talked badly of the other. Abrams has publicly been an admirer of Bridgers’s music, citing her as an influence. She has even opened for Bridgers a few times, like at an Austin City Limits show in 2021.

Paul Mescal and Gracie Abrams at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at LACMA in Los Angeles — Paul Mescal and Gracie Abrams together at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, held at LACMA in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026. Photo by Jean Baptiste Lacroix / AFP via Getty Images.

“The Governor’s Waltz” isn’t even necessarily a diss track. The lyrics can certainly be interpreted as a jab at the woman who came after Bridgers. But they can also be read as Bridgers examining the person she herself became during her relationship with Mescal.

That’s consistent with the larger themes critics have identified throughout Lost Weekend. This isn’t simply an album about an ex-boyfriend. It’s an album about identity, grief, fame, relationships and trying to understand yourself after you’ve changed.

Phoebe Bridgers holding four Grammy Awards in the press room at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles — Phoebe Bridgers holds four Grammy Awards in the press room at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 4, 2024. Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images.

Maybe Bridgers isn’t saying, “Gracie Abrams stole my life.”

Maybe she’s saying, “Someone else is living the life I used to live, and I’m finally realizing I don’t want it anymore.” The gentler take here is that Bridgers didn’t like who she was with Mescal and is glad to hand the role off.

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