Taylor Swift has become a household name and has received a very large cult following within the past 4-5 years. Her albums “Midnights” (2022) and “The Tortured Poets Department” (2024) broke many records on multiple streaming services. All the way back in 2009, she became the first country singer to win an MTV Video Music Award, and in that year, she bought her first private jet, which has in recent years has caused some controversy.
In 2022, Taylor Swift was labeled the most carbon-polluting celebrity of the year with her total emissions at 8,293 tons, more than 1,100 times higher than the average persons emissions in a year.
Jack Sweeney, a 21-year-old junior at the University of Central Florida, was able to track Swift’s private jet usage and would update the Instagram page @taylorswiftjets regularly. This page would show where Swift’s jet would take off from and land in. Taylor Swift was not the only celebrity he would track. He would also log the flight records of celebrities like Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian. This account showed the excessive and unnecessary number of times that Taylor Swift used her private jet.
On Dec. 23, 2023, Sweeney was sent a cease and desist letter from Taylor Swift’s legal team claiming that the account puts Swift as risk and violates her privacy. The Instagram @taylorswiftjets is taken down as well as a facebook account with the same purpose.
In late 2023, Swift’s relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce, was heating up, and she flew all across the country to see him play. In just three months, she produced 138 tons of CO2 emissions.
Taylor Swift is also known for taking extremely short trips, sometimes just to avoid traffic. Earlier this year, she was reported to have taken a 40 second flight from the Los Angeles airport. The same route could’ve taken 10-15 minutes by car.
President of Earth Club and Taylor Swift fan Clara Walker (12) expresses these sentiments. “A lot of the use of her plane is unnecessary and ignorant,” Walker said. “She has a massive platform and could use it to promote sustainability but she doesn’t. That should not be overlooked.”
Even with these truths, Taylor Swift has done good for the community and in recent years has been trying to right her wrongs. “I also know that she has donated millions of dollars worth of food to food pantries in all the cities she visits, and donates money to other organizations,” Walker said. Swift’s legal team has also reported that they will plant trees to offset her emissions, but no evidence of these claims has been found.
Earth Club member Leah Dudley (11) highlights the importance of not excusing her wrongdoings just because of her celebrity status. “I am frustrated with peoples’ quickness to excuse Taylor Swift’s emissions,” Dudley said. “Holding polluters accountable includes everyone, including your favorite celebrities.”
Many Swift supporters either ignore, or aren’t aware of the dangers she has done.
It’s important to know that separating the art from the artist can always be done.
“Being sustainable should be a priority at this point, especially considering everything that is happening around the world due to climate change,” Walker said. “I’m also still going to enjoy her music. I don’t feel necessarily comfortable supporting her in other monetary ways, but if her music makes me happy, I don’t see a reason to stop listening to it.”
Dudley agrees with this saying “You can enjoy her music and criticize her at the same time.”
Walker also notes that the most important thing for critics of Taylor Swift is that they themselves need to be doing what they can to help the environment. “My first thought when I hear people complain about a celebrity is what are you doing to help? How are you helping the environment? It’s a fine line between holding the people in power accountable, and just trying to take blame off yourself. Should celebrities care more about climate change? Absolutely. But so should you,” Walker said.
Taylor Swift fans and everyone else around the globe hopes that she can change her ways and use the power she has to help the Earth. We all live on this planet and we all need to do what we can to keep it alive.
