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American popstar, Taylor Swift has caught media attention for a cease-and-desist letter addressed to Jack Sweeney, a 21-year-old University of Central Florida college student, regarding his now suspended Twitter (X) account ‘Celebrity Jets’. The purpose of the account was to track the world’s richest people’s carbon emissions with their private jet usage. Sweeney still has access to his personal Twitter (X) account @Jxck_Sweeney. As of last week, Sweeny’s lawyer doubts Swift’s legal team will pursue further legal action due to their failure to identify a legal claim.
Taylor Swift’s legal team claims the account aims to further the stalking and harassment Swift experiences. Taylor Swift was not the only celebrity being tracked by Sweeney’s accounts. Furthermore, her lawyers ignore the 24-hour delay in Sweeney’s posts. This is not the first time Swift’s private jet usage has been put into question. According to the information Sweeney released to the public, the average carbon footprint of a United States citizen is 16 tons per year, but Swift’s private jet usage produced an obtrusive 8,300 tons in 2022 alone.
Private jets make up approximately 0.9% of global carbon emissions. Private jets are just one of the many luxuries the rich indulge in that disproportionally contribute to harmful CO2 emissions. The global pandemic correlated with the rise of ownership of superyachts, which can reach emissions as high as 7,020 tons of CO2.
The conservation regarding climate change usually focuses on individual impact, when in reality only a small portion of wealthy are responsible for most of the global CO2 emissions. Celebrities should not be excluded from scrutiny of their environmental impact. Many Taylor Swift fans (otherwise known as Swifties) argue that Swift’s usage of her private jet is vital to her safety. This claim was also used by Swift’s lawyers in her cease-and-desist to Sweeney, arguing that tracking her plane put her at a greater risk with stalkers. Counter-arguments sparked, which dismissed the idea that Swift would be in great danger at an airport. Simple security measures could ensure her safety if she were to fly commercial.
Specific criticism of Swift comes from her frequent and unnecessary use of her jet compared to other celebrities. Her obsessive private jet usage creates greater harm to others than the benefit it creates for herself. A common frustration with Twitter (X) users and across other social media platforms was Swift’s lack of accountability for her exceedingly large carbon footprint compared to an average person.
Sweeney has not allowed these recent events to dissuade him from pursuing his belief in the public’s right to knowledge of climate abuse. In one of his recent tweets, on February 20th, Sweeney wrote, “Jet lag is a choice for those who fly in private jets and sleep-in queen-size beds onboard. Meanwhile they emit more than thousand more carbon emissions than the average person in a year.”
