Having famous friends — like really, really famous friends — can be a challenge. Just ask Taylor Swift's good friend Lorde.

In a new interview with The Guardian, Lorde describes what it's like to be pals with someone who's so publicly recognizable they're hounded no matter where they go. “It’s like having a friend with very specific allergies,” she said. “There are certain places you can’t go together. Certain things you can’t do. There are these different sets of considerations within the friendship. It’s like having a friend with an autoimmune disease.”

Not that Taylor literally has a serious allergy or autoimmune disease, of course, but living so squarely in the public eye does have its drawbacks.

Later in the interview, though, Lorde elaborated on why it makes sense for celebrities to be friends with other celebrities. “It’s an element of wanting to stick together. Because it can be so scary to do this. These friendships, they’re about having a hand put on your shoulder by someone who knows. They’re about hearing, ‘I’ve done it, too.’”

And for the record, she's still friends with her pre-fame crew from Auckland, New Zealand.