Taylor Swift’s lawyers are threatening legal action against a student who runs social media accounts that track the movements of her private jets – and the amount of CO2 they produce.
The 14-time Grammy Award winners’ lawyers sent a letter to 21-year-old Jack Sweeney, demanding he stop recording her flights and locations.
Sweeney, a junior at the University of Central Florida, has run several accounts that track the flight paths of planes and helicopters owned by celebrities, billionaires, politicians and other public figures.
His accounts use publicly available data and also share their planetary warning emissions estimates – with the student confronting Elon Musk for the first time in 2022 for sharing the details of his plane.
Swift’s lawyers in Washington say the 34-year-old pop superstar would have “no choice but to pursue all legal action” if he did not stop his “stalking and harassing behavior,” according to the Washington Post.
Taylor Swift’s lawyers have threatened legal action against Jack Sweeney, a junior at the University of Central Florida
Swift’s lawyers wrote Sweeney a cease-and-desist letter, saying she would have “no choice but to seek all legal remedies.”
Sweeney runs social media accounts that track the takeoffs and landings of private jets owned by Swifts and other celebrities, billionaires and politicians
It added that the stories told by Sweeney had caused Swift and her family “direct and irreparable harm, as well as emotional and physical distress,” and had increased her “ongoing state of fear for her personal safety.”
The letter, which was sent to Sweeney’s family home, said there was no “legitimate interest in or public need for this information other than for the purpose of stalking, harassing and exercising dominion and control.”
The strongly worded smear, written by Katie Wright Morrone of law firm Venable, accused Sweeney of treating it like a “game”.
“While this may be a game for you, or a path that you hope will bring you wealth or fame, for our client it is a matter of life and death,” Morrone added.
Swift has seen stalkers appear outside her homes, with one man arrested outside her Manhattan townhouse last month.
The letter from her lawyers states that there is “no legitimate interest or public need for this information other than to stalk, harass, and exercise dominion and control.”
A spokesperson for Swift said they cannot comment on ongoing police investigations, but confirmed that the timing of the most recent arrest “suggests a connection.”
“His messages tell you exactly when and where she would be,” she added.
Sweeney believes the letter is an attempt to scare him into sharing public data, adding that he was “more careful” with what he shared about the pop star.
The letter came in December, around the time Sweeney’s accounts that followed Swift’s jets on Facebook and Instagram were disabled. A second letter followed, accusing him of ‘harassing’ the star.
He said the threats of legal action came at a time when Swift was facing a huge backlash over the environmental impact of her flights while she was en route for her Era’s Tour and also flew across the US to meet her new boyfriend Travis Kelce seen playing in the NFL.
“This information is already out, her team thinks they can control the world,” Sweeney said.
Swift, 34, was under pressure to reduce her carbon emissions after traveling across the US to spend time with Kelce, 34, of Kansas Chief, while also performing the international leg of her Era’s tour.
While many have called for the star to travel less, the globetrotting superstar is unlikely to switch to commercial flights due to safety fears – with many speculating she will use charter planes instead.
After she was crowned the biggest celebrity polluter of the year in 2022, her team quickly hit back, saying she lent her planes and also bought double the number of carbon emissions tokens than she needed for her tours.
But the singer, who announced her thirteenth album at the Grammys on Sunday night, has been hit with a new barrage of criticism over her planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions released on every flight.
Based on stats from Taylor Swift’s Jets on Instagram, the hitmaker’s travels have created 138 tons of CO2 emissions so far.
The singer would have to plant 2,282 trees and let them grow for ten years to compensate for the environmental damage caused by her flights.
According to the Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, this is the equivalent of the energy consumption of 17 homes in one year, or the electricity consumption of 26.9 households for one year.
Swift has been hit by a new barrage of criticism over its planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions released on every flight. She is pictured in her private jet
Sweeney believes the letter is an attempt to scare him into sharing public data, adding that he was “more careful” with what he shared about the pop star.
Swift, 34, was under pressure to reduce her carbon emissions after traveling across the US to spend time with Kelce, 34, of Kansas Chief, while also performing the international leg of her Era’s tour. Taylor’s private jet is pictured
His accounts use publicly available data and also share their planetary warning emissions estimates – with the student confronting Elon Musk for the first time in 2022 for sharing the details of his plane
The star has not yet confirmed whether she will attend the Super Bowl.
Whether or not she comforts Kelce after a loss or celebrates the Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowl wins, Swift will have to travel the world again and be in Australia five days later to continue her Eras Tour.
San Francisco and Kansas City will meet in the Super Bowl for the second time this decade, with the Chiefs winning Super Bowl LIV in 2020.
The Bad Blood singer will travel to Australia and take the stage in Melbourne on February 16, starting at 6pm.
She will perform at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds for three nights before heading to Sydney’s Accor Stadium for four shows from February 23.
After coming out on top in the 2022 pollution rankings, Taylor’s rep hit back, claiming Swift often lets other people take her Falcon 7X jet on trips around the world.
However, there is no doubt that she has been aboard the plane since September on its many flights between Kansas City, New York and various other stops.
The trips used 12,622 gallons of jet fuel, estimated to be worth as much as $70,779.
In her biggest trip yet, Swift flew from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Kansas City – with a stop in Tampa, Florida.
4,151 gallons of fuel were used during the trip, which is believed to be worth $23,250.
A spokesperson for Swift told DailyMail.com that it was working to reduce CO2 emissions from its planes by traveling less frequently than in previous years.
“Before the tour launched in March 2023, Taylor purchased more than double the carbon credits needed to offset all tour travel,” the spokesperson explained.
The excess credits mean Taylor could have had more than enough to cover her latest romance which came in the middle of her sold-out tour, with her trips to support Kelce increasing her carbon emissions in addition to her planned tour travels.