Taylor Swift's friend pal Gracie Abrams gets roasted for 'John Lennon' hairdo

Gracie Abrams found herself at the centre of an unexpected online debate this week, not for her music or her views on nepotism, but for her haircut.

The 26-year-old singer, a close friend of Taylor Swift and the daughter of director JJ Abrams, appeared on the New York Times' Popcast to discuss her experience as a so-called nepo baby. 

Several viewers, however, found their attention drifting to her cropped pixie cut rather than her candid reflections on privilege.

The comments on X were swift and creative. "Why is she always cutting her hair like she's an orphan from 1820 who was sold to a farmhouse," wrote one user. 

Another roped in her boyfriend, actor Paul Mescal, who is set to play Paul McCartney in an upcoming Beatles biopic: "is her hair like that because Paul Mescal is making her cosplay John Lennon for method acting purposes." 

One observer compared her look to "the first lady of north korea," while others expressed concern about the trajectory of the cuts. 

"Gracie Abrams youre so talented pls dont go bald," wrote one, as another predicted she would soon be "baldie abrams by the way she is cutting her hair shorter and shorter."

Not everyone was unkind. 

Several fans rallied to her defence, with one calling the cut "the most endearing thing about her" and describing it as "adorbs." 

Another said "short hair looks SO good on her though" and praised her for having the face to carry it off. 

A third agreed: "not many people have the face card to look good even with that haircut, if you've got it you gotta show it off."

For her part, Abrams has been entirely intentional about the transformation. 

She told Vogue's The Run-Through podcast last month that she has been "cutting my hair off and off and off" and is "just loving low-maintenance," citing 1990s-era Winona Ryder, Gwyneth Paltrow and Chloë Sevigny as her inspirations. 

The Popcast appearance also gave Abrams the opportunity to reflect thoughtfully on the privileges she grew up with as the daughter of JJ Abrams and television producer Katie McGrath. 

"Of course that's been a part of the conversation, and I think about the privilege there," she said. 

"I had a safety net, and that allowed me the ability to experiment and to concentrate, and I had the gift of time to dedicate to doing this thing I loved. I wasn't growing up afraid financially, and that's the biggest deal."

She noted that her father was himself the son of television producers, making him a nepo baby in his own right.