Taylor Swift’s attorneys have threatened legal action against a student who has been tracking the celebrity’s private jet use and carbon emission estimates via social media.
Swift’s lawyers have sent multiple letters to Jack Sweeney, a student at the University of Central Florida, and demanded that he stop tracking and sharing the flight information of the singer online, the Washington Post first reported.
Sweeney has run social media accounts for several years that log the takeoff and landings of planes owned by billionaires, politicians and celebrities. He uses data publicly available from the Federal Aviation Administration, and often measures the carbon emissions from each flight.
Swift’s attorney wrote Sweeney a cease-and-desist letter in December saying Swift would “have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies” if he did not stop what they call “stalking and harassing behavior.”
The singer claimed that Sweeney’s social media accounts have caused her and her family “direct and irreparable harm” and “emotional and physical distress.” Sweeney shared a copy of the letter with the Post.
A spokesperson for Swift said they cannot comment on ongoing police investigations but confirmed that there is a connection between the singer’s stalkers and the jet-tracking online accounts.
Sweeney told the outlet that he thinks it was an attempt to scare him away from sharing public data.
Swift and other celebrities have been criticized for their use of private jets and its impact on climate change. Sweeney’s accounts were cited in a 2022 study that found that Swift was reportedly one of the biggest celebrity carbon dioxide polluters of 2022, according to the Post.
His accounts were later blocked by Meta, the parent company for Facebook and Instagram. Swift’s lawyer then sent a second letter and said Sweeney was participating in “harassing conduct,” the Post reported.
Swift’s travel plans have been in the spotlight this week. She will be performing at her highly-popular “The Eras Tour” in Japan ahead of her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s appearance with the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. The Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. confirmed that Swift has ample time to fly from her Tokyo show to Las Vegas for the game.
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