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JOSHUA BASSETT ON TIKTOK
Culture > Entertainment

Joshua Bassett Might’ve Shaded Olivia Rodrigo On TikTok

Hannah Tolley

Joshua Bassett is a man of many names. He was rumored to be Olivia Rodrigo’s ex — you know, the one that gave us the songs we scream in the car like “Driver’s License.” Then, he was rumored to be Sabrina Carpenter’s boyfriend, which stirred up the pot even more, as she was suspected to be the girl Olivia sings about in her songs. This unconfirmed love triangle is messy, and fans eat up drama like this. So, when Joshua Basset started having some fun of his own on TikTok this week, fans went wild — cue the drama! 

Apparently, Olivia is the love of his life, and he wasn’t happy about that.

While promoting his song “Would You Love Me Now” in the background, Joshua Basset was playing around with the “Tap ABC” filter on TikTok, which users use to answer questions they have about their lives like “who is my soulmate?” Bassett decided to hop on the trend and ask the filter what letter is the love of his life, and the answer was none other than the letter “O” aka Ms. Olivia Rodrigo.

However, Basset didn’t seem too happy with this answer because he took a few seconds to reflect and then asked again. This time, he got the letter “Q,” to which he responded with “OK, Q. I’ll take it.” I guess Bassett was feeling bold because he posted the video to TikTok and now the video has over 2 million likes and 15 million views. Fans were going crazy over this subtle shade at Rodrigo, one comment even joked that she is going to make an album about this. Did Joshua Bassett just single-handedly confirm the love triangle in one TikTok? 

https://www.tiktok.com/@joshuatbassett/video/7153392840842825003?is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7153392840842825003&web_id=7152732432834774571

Though Bassett was in a silly mood, fans weren’t enjoying his humor. Rodrigo stans commented on the video saying that “it should’ve stayed in the drafts” and others came to Twitter to accuse him of using Rodrigo for clout. Meanwhile, Bassett’s fans weren’t going to let him get hate. One fan tweeted that he’s allowed to joke after being at the center of harmful hate by Rodrigo fans for months. Some fans are just fully immersing themselves in the joke, or maybe not-so-joke, and saying Rodrigo and Bassett should get fake back together for “sh*ts and giggles.” Her Campus reached out to Rodrigo’s team for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.

Basset went on a TikTok spam following the viral video. 

Immediately following the video, Bassett posted a TikTok featuring a collection of clips listening to his new song “Would You Love Me Now.” The song is all about getting an old lover back (convenient, right?). The chaotic behavior continued when he made a talking video saying, “Some of you are saying I’m unhinged, some of you are saying ‘Josh, are you OK?’ Yes and No.” 

Though it was never confirmed, fans can’t seem to let the relationship between Bassett and Rodrigo go. Despite looking friendly on the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 3 red carpet premiere during summer, these TikToks made where they stand with each other a little murkier to fans.

Maybe this is all a marketing ploy for his new single, or maybe Bassett is in his Reputation era and isn’t holding back anymore. Either way, fans are eating this up and we can all thank TikTok for keeping us up-to-date on all the drama in real-time. 

Hannah Tolley is a contributing writer under the Entertainment and Culture vertical. She covers entertainment releases, fan theories, pop culture news, and more. Aside from Her Campus, Hannah was also a member of the Florida State University (FSU) Her Campus team. During her time with the chapter, she served as a staff writer for three semesters, where she wrote biweekly pieces across campus, culture, and personal verticals. She also was a content editor for two semesters, where she led a team of 6+ writers and oversaw and edited their articles. Hannah was also an editorial intern for Her Campus during her spring and summer term of her second year in college. As an intern, she worked alongside the full-time edit team to curate timely and evergreen pieces across life, culture, career, and style verticals. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from FSU in May 2023, with a Bachelor of Science in Media/Communication Studies with a minor in English. When she's not dissecting the latest pop culture events, you can find her reading a cheesy romance novel or establishing parasocial relationships with fictional TV characters. She loves to rewatch her favorite shows (Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, and Friends) or spend the day going down a rabbit hole of reality dating shows.