Feminist Anthems: Newspaper by Fiona Apple

And the phenomenon of hating the "new girl"

Fiona Apple’s 2020 album Fetch the Bolt Cutters is, in many ways, about liberation. By exploring themes like bullying, sexual violence, and oppressive—sometimes abusive— relationships, Apple identifies situations that hold us hostage, and urges the listener to break ourselves out of them; to fetch the bolt cutters.

“Newspaper” is the seventh track on the album, and is directed at an ex-partner’s current girlfriend. Right of the bat, Apple subverts audience expectations:

I wonder what lie’s he’s telling you about me

To make sure that we’ll never be friends

And it’s a shame because you and I didn’t get a witness

We’re the only ones who know

Women writing songs directed at their ex’s “new girl” is nothing new. Thematically, these songs are either bitter, with a “she’s got nothing on me” attitude, or a solemn and desperate “come back to me” plea. “Newspaper” is neither of these. Apple is sympathetic toward the woman who will be put through the same pain as she was. She feels helpless, as she knows the man has already created a rift between the two women, and is likely already utilizing the same abuse tactics against her; only harming her behind closed doors.

She continues:

I grew concerned when I saw him start to covet you

When I learned what he did I felt close to you

In my own way, I fell in love with you

But he’s made me a ghost to you

Apple feels protective over and deeply connected to the woman who endured the same abuse as she did, but the woman likely does not feel the same. Abusers often lie about their victims, doing everything in their power to make them seem irrational to others so they are not believed.

I watch him let go of your hand, I wanna stand between you

But it’s not what I’m supposed to do

I watch him walk over, talk over you, be mean to you

And it makes me feel close to you

Apple wants to save the woman from the abuser, but she knows there is no use. Coming between the two may even reinforce the lies the abuser told the woman about Apple; he could frame her as the “crazy ex girlfriend”. But it hurts Apple to witness the abuse she went through be done to another woman; all she has is this borderline parasocial connection to her.

Just in these twelve lines, Fiona Apple breaks from the misogynistic mindset that abusive men rely on to continue hurting women. Abusive men often rely on women’s internalized misogyny to ensure that their past victims are not believed, or that their current victims are not freed from their grasps. The abusive man lied to the woman about Apple to ensure that she would never want to form a bond with her— the only person who knows what she is enduring— but Apple remains sympathetic to the woman, knowing she was once in the exact same position.

“Newspaper” by Fiona Apple serves as a reminder that abusers rely on this irrational hate towards women that the patriarchy instills in the hearts of men and women alike. While this hate may be more apparent in men, as it can manifest itself as violence and abuse, internalized misogyny in women can allow us to become bystanders; refusing to allow ourselves a connection to a woman who we feel has been chosen over us. Apple asks us to liberate ourselves from this mindset that centers men and hurts women, and have empathy for victims of abuse.