Olivia Rodrigo’s Ex Zack Bia Had a Lot to Say About the Theory That ‘Vampire’ Is About Him
Zack Bia, the 27-year-old DJ who dated Olivia Rodrigo for a couple months last year, actually had quite a bit to say on record to GQ about the fan speculation that her song “Vampire” is about their relationship. Rodrigo, of course, is not the only singer to date Bia and write a scathing song about him; Madison Beer, whose relationship with Bia ended in 2019, also did with her track “Selfish.”
Beer went viral for her reaction to “Vampire,” which further fueled rumors that the song was about Bia. Beer had posted “thank [you] miss olivia <3,” in a since-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to news that downloads of her song “Selfish” increased days after the release of “Vampire.”
She also responded to a question about her opinion of “Vampire” at the time, writing, “Fucking beautiful. Truly think it’s so special and showcases her growth so amazingly. Really Really impressive.”
Bia addressed Beer’s reaction to the song to GQ. He said that Beer apologized to him for the blowback, and they were actually good friends: “There’s so much love there. She’s someone who’s so instrumental in my life, and I still treat as family. Like, she and my mom are still cool.”
Regarding whether “Vampire” was actually about him, Bia first said, “I don’t think it’s really about me. I think the Internet just ran with it.”
Then he admitted he could have inspired one part of a composite character in the song. “Look, I’m in the industry so I know how a song gets made,” he said. But he denied their relationship could inspire a breakup song: “We hung out, we’re both busy, and we ended up not furthering our relationship. There was never any drama, you know?”
A source with knowledge of Rodrigo’s song-writing process told GQ, regarding that undramatic breakup remark, “I don’t know if that’s exactly true.”
Bia then chose the tactic Harry Styles used when first addressing speculation he was the subject of his ex Taylor Swift’s songs: diplomacy. He said, “The song’s so big and so awesome. Look, a heartbreak song for the summertime, it’s an undefeated formula.”
He added that “any time I’ve been speculatively the subject of a song, or the focus of a TikTok trend, whether grounded in reality or not, it’s like, it’s never been up to me to address it because the scale of it is so widespread. One hundred million people have heard this song. The only thing I can address is my own life. I can control what my friends think and the creative output that I have and things like that.”
“Look, the momentum of a song is so special,” he said, shifting the topic to Rodrigo’s musical gifts. “I think Olivia is a generational songwriter. I think she’s a generational talent. I’m always just proud of her continued accomplishments.”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.