Joshua Bassett Says He Now Has A ‘Right To Stand Up’ For Himself In Olivia Rodrigo Drama!

Joshua Bassett is now ready to tell HIS side of the “Driver’s License” story.

The actor recently opened up to GQ about one of the biggest media storms of the year that involved him, Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter.

At the beginning of the year, music newcomer Rodrigo released her record breaking, chart topping single, “Drivers License.”

The song is essentially about a really bad breakup where the guy seemingly leaves a brunette (Rodrigo) for another girl with blonde hair presumed to be Carpenter.

Many fans believed the male character in the song to be Rodrigo’s “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” co-star and on-screen love interest, Joshua Bassett.

Rodrigo and Bassett were rumored to be dating off-screen as well, so “Driver’s License” was assumed to be her exposé on the breakup.

Bassett received insane backlash from Rodrigo’s devoted fanbase, and was basically deemed the Gen-Z villain of 2021.

However, now that he’s had time to heal from the mental and emotional pain of it all, Bassett is letting it all out.

"I have a right to stand up for myself," he said while talking about the experience he went through earlier this year.

“I would see TikToks with like 50 million views and 10 million likes saying, ‘If I ever see that kid on the street, I'm going to f***ing kill him,’” Bassett says. “It's hard to see that and then be living in New York and walking down the street.”

Bassett just released three new songs, which were written six months ago, that tell his side of the story.

On Friday, December 3, the singer released “Crisis,” “Secret” and “Set Me Free.”

Bassett says “Crisis” is all about “all the crazy PR over the year.” The song references a breakup instigated by the other party in the relationship.

The lyrics go, “It’s cool if you want me to play the bad guy/But don’t go acting like I never loved you” and “Weren’t you the one who left in the first place/Weren’t you the one who called things off?”

The song implies it was an ex who seems to twist the truth for publicity and personal gain.

“Secret” pertains to finding out an ex’s lie.

“You swore that you only had a crush/Told me that you cut him off”, he sings. The song also includes the lines, “When your woe is me stops working/I bet your songs won’t sound the same.”

Now that is some piping hot TEA!

Bassett says when the social media storm initially hit, his team wanted him to respond and take advantage of the moment; however, Bassett decided to lay low and keep to himself.

“It sort of felt like a losing battle… If I try and defend myself in any way, it just felt impossible,” Bassett admitted. "I'm glad that it's taken this long" to release the songs.

Proceeds from the songs will go to mental health organizations.

The 'HSMTMTS' actor revealed he has tried reached out to Rodrigo, but has never heard anything back.

Bassett also noted that people don’t realize how long ago the drama occurred. He didn’t directly reference Rodrigo, but implied that’s what he was referring to.

“It's not as recent as it seems. I'm a completely different person now," he adds. “I’m not here to expose people. It was eating me alive, and I couldn’t keep it in anymore.”

Bassett, who came out as part of the LGBTQ+ community in May is currently single and completely fine with it. He admits his dating life is “non-existent.”