Few things in pop are more dangerous that invoking the ire of the Swifties. (Just ask Jack White.) Bruno Mars appears to know this so well, he had to step in to quell any potential furor sparked by a likely fake bait post that proclaimed to show him dissing his fellow pop superstar.
The brouhaha bubbled up in a far-flung corner of the stan internet last Friday, when an account called Pop Faction claimed to have evidence of Mars liking a post calling Taylor Swift “talentless.” The original post didn’t really gain that much traction, but over on X, where outrage reigns supreme, an aggregation by an account called PopFlop racked up over 11,000 likes.
It was here that Mars felt compelled to set the record straight, stating in the replies: “Taylor has always been supportive and kind to me. Only love over here. ❤️.”
Now, some might see this and decide, “That’s good enough for me, no need to look into this further or think about it ever again.” And this would be valid. Ignorance is bliss, after all. Others, however, might think to themselves, “Wait a minute, Mars didn’t actually deny liking such a post.”
And to those curious souls, we say: Let us now descend into the wilderness of mirrors that is the online pop-stan, rage-bait engagement economy — where what’s fake is real, what’s real is fake, where truth is fiction, and fiction may just contain an element of truth. It’s where the only thing that matters, at the end of the day, is riling up enough people so that someone can make a couple hundred bucks off this slop from clicks, views, and comments.
Upon initial closer inspection, the whole thing certainly seems like a haphazard hoax. The original “offending” post calling Swift “talentless” was credited to the official BTS X account. Obviously, the pop group shared no such thing. And if they did, that probably would have been way more inflammatory than Mars giving it a like. (As several extremely online heads pointed out, too, the “talentless” post was actually repurposed from a completely different pop stan account that was actually criticizing Swift.)
But the whole thing gets a little funky — and possibly verges on Pepe Silvia territory — thanks to a piece of evidence proffered by the fine folks at PopFlop. As they noted in the replies to their own aggregation, the post with the BTS branding was obviously bogus, but it was originally shared not by Pop Faction, but a third account called BopBase (self-described as “your best source for all parody culture related entertainment”).
It was a BopBase Instagram Reel, which contained the fake “talentless” post, which Mars allegedly liked. And a screen-recorded video shared by PopFlop does appear to lend some credence to this theory, enough for them to declare that Mars’ allegedly incriminating like is “real and verified.”
Rolling Stone, however, could not — alas — do the same. As of this morning, March 16, in the year of our Lord 2026, the Instagram account for BopBase has been mysteriously deactivated.
Obviously, it goes without saying that, what with everything else going on in the world, this is the definitive story of the day, if not week, or month, or perhaps even year. Only time will tell. Either way, we promise to stay on this beat until the case is cracked and all guilty parties are vanquished to the Khia Asylum. If you have any information that might help us solve “The Mystery of Did Bruno Mars Throw Shade at Taylor Swift?” please reach out to tips@rollingstone.com.
Aaron Idelson
North West with her mom at a Lakers game in 2024
North West Was Born To Be a Star
As the celebrity children of the 2010s come of age and follow in their parents’ footsteps, we’ve arrived at the next generation of nepo babies. There’s no better example right now than North West, scion of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s celebrity empire, who, at 12 years old, seems poised to become a fixture in the future of not only music but also fashion. Take her recent single, “Piercing on My Hand,” which arrived on DSPs on Feb. 6, and was reported as a soul-sampled track produced by Ye and Will Frenchman. The single was reportedly released via Gamma., the independent music company co-founded by former Apple exec Larry Jackson in 2023 — the same company Ye recently partnered with for the release of his upcoming album, Bully. She also joined her dad onstage in Mexico City to debut “Piercing on My Hand” live. It’s a position that’s by now familiar for North, who previously appeared on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures single “Talking/Once Again,” which reached Number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also charted in the U.K.
Perhaps this all represents a maximalist approach to the challenge of raising kids in the public eye. While it’s common to see celebrities attempt, with varying levels of success, to shield their children from the limelight, North has been slowly learning how to navigate being born into fame. This week, People reported that her mom, Kim Kardashian, filed applications in January to trademark the company name “NOR11” for use in the sale of clothing and accessories, including dresses, footwear, loungewear, hats, watches, jewelry, handbags, and cosmetics cases. North has already gained attention for her sense of style, raising eyebrows after revealing piercings on her middle finger last September, prompting online criticism because of her age. Her debut single is partly inspired by the controversy.
In addition to “Piercing on My Hand,” North has since racked up a handful of production credits for the underground rap staple Babyxsosa, including “Tokyo” and “Viral,” released as loosies on social platforms last month. The latter samples Chief Keef’s “Love Sosa” with a kind of dense, atmospheric texture that also recalls “Hold My Liquor,” the Chief Keef-assisted cut from Kanye’s 2013 opus Yeezus. North West’s producer tag, an anime voice squeaking “North-Chan” in Japanese with the sweetness of a kids’ video game, is already on its way to becoming iconic. In January, she landed a notable early placement as a producer on “Justswagup,” a single by Mag!c and Lil Novi — Lil Wayne’s son, who is 16 years old, putting him, like North, squarely in the “next-gen rap royalty” conversation.
Last month, North went on Instagram Live and answered questions from her followers about her journey learning how to make music, sharing snippets of in-progress beats, and describing more about her inspirations. That she’s so far leaned into the sound of her generational cohort, a frenetic, almost hyperpop-infused take on hip-hop, is more evidence of the genre’s changing sound. For their part, both of North’s parents are offering their support. On Monday, Kim Kardashian shared a clip on her Instagram of her listening to North’s song in the car, despite what would appear to be ongoing acrimony between Ye and Kim.
North is less a carbon copy of her parents than a Gen Alpha translation. At 12 years old, she was raised in the feed, is fluent in online culture, and is learning early that identity is something you can iterate in public. The nepo-baby conversation, which typically ascribes unearned privilege and access to the children of celebs, falls short of describing what’s actually interesting about North West. She represents how childhood, branding, and art are collapsing into a single timeline, and she is already moving through it like it’s her native language.