On September 24th, Tate McRae surprised tatertots with a brand-new track, Tit For Tat. The single follows her Formula 1 anthem Just Keep Watching and is her first release since So Close to What earlier this year.
But what’s the real buzz here, Pop Tellers? Fans are convinced this song is aimed directly at her ex, The Kid LAROI. And let me tell you, they’re not wrong.
Tate and LAROI’s breakup already inspired his single A Cold Play, and now Tate seems to be clapping back in her own unapologetic way.
What Does “Tit For Tat” Even Mean?
“Tit for tat” is an old British phrase that basically means: you hit me, I hit you right back. In other words, retaliation. Tate’s title feels like a not-so-subtle dig, suggesting that if LAROI can release breakup music about her, she can fire back with one of her own.
Tate Savagely References ‘A Cold Play’
One lyric that immediately caught fans’ attention is when Tate snaps, “Fix your f—ing self, kiss my a– for that.” Many think this is a direct response to The Kid LAROI’s song A Cold Play, where he repeats, “Fix you, fix you, fix you, wish I could.” The similarity feels way too pointed to ignore, and I’m pretty convinced she’s purposely mirroring his words to flip the narrative back on him.
Tate Says She’ll Never Love LAROI Again
The chorus only adds more fuel to the fire. Tate sings, “Thought I might love you again, see how I feel / Now that you’re acting like that, boy I never will.” I mean, if that’s not a brutally honest line, I don’t know what is.
Tate Gives a Nod to LAROI’s New Lover
From there, Tate appears to reference her ex moving on, belting out, “Last night, she answered my call, it sealed the deal / Right now, I’m even about you.” Fans have interpreted this as Tate acknowledging a new girl in LAROI’s life — but also making it clear that she’s officially over it. The new girl in question? URM, let’s not forget LAROI was recently spotted with KATSEYE’s Manon Bannermanth at the VMAs after-party.
Tate Calls LAROI “Messy”
Tate doesn’t hold back when calling out his character, either. In another verse, she reflects, “The day I met you, boy, I thought it was a blessing / In the heat of it, I always took your side.” But she quickly flips the script, accusing him of stirring unnecessary drama with, “It’s a shame you’re out here trying to make it messy / Wow, you’re messy, damn.” Final mic drop, indeed.
The Drake Reference Everyone Spotted
Tate even seems to channel Drake’s legendary diss track Back to Back in the lyric “Let’s go song for song, let’s go back to back / Let’s go tit for tat, boy, you asked for that.” Basically, she’s saying: “If you wanna play this game, I can go bar-for-bar too.” Savage.
What Other Receipts Are There?
To make the timing even juicier, Tate revealed she actually wrote Tit For Tat just two weeks ago — well after her split from LAROI. That alone has fans convinced this track is less of a coincidence and more of a response.
Fans also noticed another detail: “TIT FOR TAT” is Tate’s first fully capitalized song title, a style that LAROI has used for all of his tracks. It feels like another sly nod pointing straight in his direction.
A Quick Recap of Tate & LAROI’s Relationship
For those who need the refresher: Tate and The Kid LAROI dated for about a year before breaking things off earlier in 2024. While they kept things pretty low-key at first, their split has been anything but quiet. LAROI released A Cold Play shortly after, which fans believed was a breakup anthem about Tate.
Now, with Tit For Tat, McRae seems to be serving the sequel, making this one of the spiciest musical breakups since Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan.
Read the full ‘Tit for Tat’ lyrics below:
[Intro]
Thought I might love you again, I’ll see how I feel
Now that you’re acting like that, boy, I never will
Last night, she answered my call, it sealed the deal
Right now, I’m not even about you
[Chorus]
Thought I might love you again, see how I feel
Now that you’re acting like that, boy, I never will
Last night, she answered my call, it sealed the deal
Right now, I’m not even about you
[Verse 1]
The day I met you, boy, I thought it was a blessing
In the heat of it, I always took your side
It’s a shame you out here tryna make it messy
Wow, you’re messy, damn
We were good, I thought we made it through the ending
I was hearing shit I never thought you’d say
Could have picked it up exactly where we left it
Took our future off your plate
[Pre-Chorus]
Let’s go song for song, let’s go back to back
Let’s go tit for tat, boy, you asked for that
That’s the best you got, where’s the good one at?
I was never ever as far as away as you thought
[Chorus]
Thought I might love you again, see how I feel
Now that you’re acting like that, I never will
Last night, she answered my call, it sealed the deal
Right now, I’m not even about you
Thought I might love you again, see how I feel
Now that you’re acting like that, I never will
Last night, she answered my call, it sealed the deal
Right now, I’m not even about you
[Verse 2]
I was nothing but respectful, and you know that
Why you changing up the narrative to write?
No, I can’t do this, you’re making me do this
If you want to fight
[Pre-Chorus]
Let’s go song for song, let’s go back to back
Fix your fucking self, kiss my ass for that
That’s the best you got, where’s the good one at?
Should’ve known you’d be the type to change
[Chorus]
Thought I might love you again, see how I feel
Now that you’re acting like that, I never will
Last night, she answered my call, it sealed the deal
Right now, I’m not even about you
Thought I might love you again, see how I feel
Now that you’re acting like that, I never will
Last night, she answered my call, it sealed the deal
Right now, I’m not even about you
[Bridge]
That looks like it really hurts
That bruise on your ego
I know that it makes it worse
It had to be me though
[Chorus]
Thought I might love you again, see how I feel
Now that you’re acting like that, I never will
Last night she answered my call, it sealed the deal
Right now
Thought I might love you again, see how I feel
Now that you’re acting like that, I never will
Last night she answered my call, it sealed the deal
Right now, I’m partying without you
[Outro]
Thought I might love you again
Now that you’re acting like that (I’m partying without you)
Last night, she answered my call
I’m partying without you
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