Taylor Swift has a grudge with a Florida student behind several social media accounts dedicated to tracking celebrities' private jets and their flight emissions.
University of Central Florida student Jack Sweeney received a cease-and-desist letter in December from the “Look What You Made Me Do” singer's legal team, alleging that he “engaged in harassing and harassing behavior” by posting “real-time and accurate information” about the singer's whereabouts. Sweeney posted details about Swift's flights, including the plane model, takeoff and landing locations, and carbon emissions per flight on her social media pages @taylorswiftjets .
“While this may be a game for you, or an avenue you hope will bring you wealth or fame, it is a matter of life and death for our Client,” said the letter, reviewed by The Times. “EM. Swift has dealt with stalkers and other people who wish her harm since she was a teenager.”
Along with Swift, Sweeney has tracked the flight details of other celebrities, including makeup mogul Kylie Jenner and SpaceX boss Elon Musk, through her @CelebJets account on X (formerly Twitter), which has been suspended. . Tracking Sweeney's planes was already a headache for Swift in July 2022, after a study by Yard, citing @CelebJets, listed the Grammy winner as the number one celebrity “offender” in what regards carbon dioxide emissions from private planes.
The 2022 report said Swift's 170 flights on his private plane emitted approximately 9,142 tons of carbon dioxide. Her representative said at the time that the singer was not entirely to blame. Swift, who previously owned two personal planes, now reportedly only has one.
The cease and desist letter requested that Sweeney terminate her @taylorswiftjets, claiming that her account provided people seeking to harm Swift with a “roadmap to carry out their plans.”
Last month, a Seattle man was allegedly arrested and charged with harassment and stalking when he showed up at the 34-year-old pop diva's home in New York City. The man, identified as David Crowe, had visited her home approximately 30 times since late November, CBS News reported.
“We cannot comment on any ongoing police investigation, but we can confirm that the timing of the stalkers suggests a connection,” a spokesperson for Swift told The Times. “Her posts of her tell you exactly when and where she would be.”
The cease and desist also cited several comments on social media that condemned Sweeney's account, but did not reveal who left the comments. Swift's legal team also alleged that Sweeney, 21, violated several state laws, but did not specify which ones.
Sweeney told the Washington Post, which broke news of the letter on Tuesday, that he saw the December notice from Swift's team as an “attempt to scare him into not sharing public data.” The Post reported that Sweeney's accounts are based on publicly available data from the Federal Aviation Administration and from “volunteer hobbyists who can track the aircraft through the signals they transmit.”
“This information is already available,” Sweeney told the Post. “His team thinks they can control the world.”
Sweeney's legal representative, Florida attorney James Slater, responded to Swift's attorneys, saying his client's account “posed no threat” to Swift and her safety, and “engaged in protected speech that does not violate any of Ms. Swift's legal rights. according to the Mail.
“This is not about putting a GPS tracker on someone and invading their privacy. “He's using public information to track a public figure's jet,” Slater said. “This is their means to try to quell a public relations problem and intimidate my client into making the bad coverage go away.”
The letter warned Sweeney that Swift would take legal action if she did not stop her @taylorswiftjets social media activity by December 26, 2023. “We will not hesitate to escalate this matter as necessary,” the letter said.
Interest in Swift's whereabouts has increased in recent months, amid her very public affair with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. With Super Bowl LVIII around the corner on Feb. 11, Swifties and football fans alike wondered if he could make it in time to support Kelce, 34, after a Feb. 10 stop in Tokyo. for his Eras tour. The Chiefs will face the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Last week, the Japanese embassy in Washington, D.C., offered a response: “Despite the 12-hour flight and 17-hour time difference, the embassy can confidently say on Speak Now that if you leave Tokyo the night after his concert, should comfortably arrive in Las Vegas before the Super Bowl begins.”
News of the cease-and-desist letter comes just days after Swift won big at the 2024 Grammys, breaking the record for the artist with the most album wins of the year. On the Crypto.com Arena stage on Sunday, Swift also announced her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” She revealed at a recent show that she planned to announce the new LP if “I'm lucky enough to win something” at the Grammys.
“I want to thank the fans by telling them a secret I've been keeping from them for the past two years,” he said while accepting the award for pop vocal album. “And my new album comes out on April 19.”
Swift revealed her new tracklist earlier this week: 16 songs with a bonus track for physical copies. Like her previous album, Swift's “Tortured Poets Department” will feature other artists. Rapper Post Malone will join “Fortnight” and the band Florence + The Machine will lend their talents to “Florida!!!”
Perhaps that second song is Swift's indirect way of turning the tables on Sweeney, revealing his whereabouts.
