The increased scrutiny Taylor Swift has faced over the past year for her private jet usage, particularly to travel for her ongoing Eras Tour, has reached a new high.
The "Cruel Summer" singer's frequent use of her private plane – a Dassault Falcon 7X, which fits roughly 16 passengers and is valued at around $50 million – has been particularly put on the spotlight by Jack Sweeney, who runs various social media accounts tracking the private plane usage of different celebrities, politicians and billionaires.
Earlier this week, the college junior – who has previously faced ire from Elon Musk over the X account tracking his own private travels – confirmed that in December, he received a cease-and-desist letter from the Swift team requesting he stop sharing her travel details. Here's everything you need to know.
Who is Jack Sweeney?
Jack is currently a junior at the University of Central Florida, and has for several years run accounts monitoring and sharing flights from private jets owned by notable 1%ers, using publicly available flight data from the Federal Aviation Administration.
In the December cease-and-desist, Taylor's lead attorney, Katie Morrone of Venable LLP, accused Jack of "stalking and harassing behavior" over his practice of "consistently publishing real-time and precise information about our client's location and future whereabouts to the public on social media."
Is Taylor Swift suing Jack Sweeney?
A cease-and-desist letter is different from a lawsuit, but Taylor's legal team did maintain they "have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies available" should Jack continue to publicize his findings.
The letter emphasized not only the heightened security risk his public monitoring poses for Taylor, but also the "constant state of fear for her personal safety" she is in as a result.
Throughout her decades-long career, the superstar has faced a myriad of stalking, harassment and public safety incidents; most recently, a man was arrested last month and faces stalking and harassment charges after attempting to enter her Manhattan residence on several occasions.
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Taylor's lead spokeswoman Tree Paine, maintained to the Washington Post, who first reported on the private jet issue: "We cannot comment on any ongoing police investigation but can confirm the timing of stalkers suggests a connection. His posts tell you exactly when and where she would be."
Celebrity private jets, environmental pollutants, and offsetting carbon footprints
At the core of the scrutiny frequent private jet users face is the environmental impact of it. Per The Associated Press, a 2023 study by the Institute for Policy Studies found that private jets emit at least 10 times more pollutants per passenger compared to commercial planes.
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Still, Jeff Colgan, a professor of political science at Brown University, argued: "It's striking that Ms. Swift gets so much of the outrage when private jet customers are overwhelmingly men over 50," adding: "The focus really should be on a broader class of people."
In a 2022 report, Yard, a UK-based sustainability marketing agency, used Jack's "CelebJet" account – which has been suspended from X – to analyze the public figures with the worst private jet CO2 emissions. In addition to Taylor, the list included Floyd Mayweather, Jay-Z, Blake Shelton, A-Rod, Steven Spielberg and Kim Kardashian, among others, however many have maintained the data is inaccurate, citing how they often loan their jets, or that they don't own the aircrafts in question.
Taylor's team did tell AP that she "purchased more than double the carbon credits needed to offset all tour travel," however it is a loosely regulated practice.
Can Taylor Swift fly commercial?
Whether Taylor should fly commercial instead of private is an oft-argued suggestion. Currently, she owns the aforementioned Falcon FX, after recently selling a smaller Dassault 900 jet she had in addition.
Back in 2015, while on her 1989 tour, she flew on a commercial plane to Japan's Narita Airport, and upon landing, fan mobs became so chaotic that the airport experienced several delays on various different flights.
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