Document Type
Blog Post
Publication Date
10-28-2025
Abstract
On August 23rd, 2021, stand-up comedian Caroline Timoney posted a TikTok video where she stated, “I fear I may have girl bossed a little too close to the sun.” The video went viral and, to this day, it is her most viewed post on the platform, with upwards of seven and a half million views as of October 13, 2025, and over twenty-four thousand videos reposted using her audio. Taylor Swift’s twelfth and most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl, was released on October 3rd, 2025, and includes a song titled “CANCELLED!” featuring the lyric “Did you girlboss too close to the sun?” Fans were quick to make the connection between Timoney’s TikTok and Swift’s song lyric. On the day of Swift’s album release, Timoney made a TikTok that appears satirical, in which she calls herself “Taylor Swift’s Shakespeare” and says that, after this release, she sees herself as a co-writer.
Recommended Citation
Haddock, Annabel, "The Life of a Copyright" (2025). Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog. 401.
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/aelj-blog/401
