Charli XCX addresses 'Kamala IS Brat' viral tweet: 'Happy to help stop democracy from failing'

Charli XCX has spoken out about her three-word tweet that helped launch Vice President Kamala Harris's hugely successful presidential campaign.

On July 21, hours after President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection campaign and endorsed Harris as the Democratic Party's nominee, the 32-year-old British pop star, real name Charlotte Emma Aitchison, shared her approval with a simple tweet: “Kamala IS brat.”

The Harris campaign capitalized on the singer's blessing by sharing a screenshot of her post on TikTok. They also included a photo of their own version of Charlie's lime-green brat album cover.

Addressing the viral incident in a new interview VultureThe “Apple” artist admitted she didn't mean for her message to be construed as a political endorsement. She said she meant it to be “something positive and light-hearted.”

However, he admitted: “Being on the right side of democracy, being on the right side of women's rights, is very important to me. I'm happy to help keep democracy from failing forever.”

“I obviously knew what I was doing,” she joked. “Did I think I would get on CNN talking about being a dirty girl and partying and needing a Bic lighter and a pack of Marlboro Lights? No.”

The “brat” culture popularized by Charlie has since made headlines, with several news programs including CNN and political pundits trying to decipher the meaning behind the Gen Z slang.

The word “brat” is a noun and means a symbol or a symbol of authenticity and confidence in oneself.

Despite stirring up excitement among young voters about the 2024 presidential election, Charlie clarifies that he’s not “a political artist.”

“I'm not Bob Dylan and I've never pretended to be,” she said. “My music is not political. Everything I do in my life comes back to my art. Everything I say, wear, think, enjoy – it all comes back to my art. Politics does not feed my art.”

In the lengthy interview, Charli explains the inspiration behind her song “Sympathy Is a Knife,” which is widely believed to be about Taylor Swift.

“People will think what they want to think,” she said. “This song is about me and my feelings and my anxiety and the way my mind makes up stories and tales in my head when I feel insecure and how I don't want to physically be in situations when I feel self-doubt.”

The two artists have recently become rivals in the music charts after Swift released a new UK-only version of her latest album Department of tortured poetsprompting him to pip brat 1 spot in the UK charts.

Swift praised Charli's “surreal and inventive” songwriting, saying Vulture Journalist: “Ever since I first heard ‘Stay Away’ in 2011, I’ve been impressed by Charlie’s melodic sensibilities.

“She takes a song to a place you wouldn't expect, and she's been doing that consistently for a decade. I love seeing that kind of hard work pay off.”