Taylor Swift is breaking news headlines again– but it’s not because of her new album announcement. Swifties are being fed tons of content right now, and have been freaking out (as they should) over her 13th Grammy win and the surprise reveal of her new album The Tortured Poets Department. However, the week seems to be taking a turn as it shifts onto the legal side of Swift’s life — most notably, with the Taylor Swift private jet.
On Feb. 6, Swift’s lawyers sent a cease and desist to a college student, Jack Sweeney, who was tracking the whereabouts of her private jet. Sweeney, a student at the University of Central Florida, is known for tracking celebrity jets and had a similar dispute with Elon Musk in 2022.
According to Sweeney, he received a notice from Swift’s legal team that called for him to stop his “stalking and harassing behavior.” The letter also stated that Swift lives her life “in a constant state of fear for her personal safety.” (Can someone check on Blondie?)
While Sweeney has been reporting on Swift’s jet whereabouts since November of 2023, his tweet exposing that the singer took a 13-minute flight is what caused him to gain more traction.
Swift received backlash for the use of her private jet in the past when Yard stated that she took 170 flights between Jan. 1 and July 19 of 2022. However, Swities swiftly rushed to her defense by pointing out that the jet is loaned out regularly and the report was “blatantly incorrect.”
Other defenders pointed out that Swift is a “humble queen” and doesn’t flaunt her wealth like
other celebs. A few Swifities even dug up research to prove Swift wasn’t anywhere near the top 10 producers of carbon emissions.
More recently Musk himself took to X/Twitter to defend Swift and her potential legal action by calling Sweeney “an awful human being”, alluding to his previous conflict with him two years ago.
In a statement to NBC, Sweeney said, “I simply state the facts” in his defense. He claims that there’s no reason for him to stop his private tracking because it’s all “public information” and he “believes in transparency.”
The debate over Swift’s jet tracking and usage has also come up in discussion with the Super Bowl game this Sunday and whether or not she will be there to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
Regardless of the impending legal actions, I think it’s safe to say that Swift is still on top of her game and is starting off the 2024 year with a winning streak as she looks ahead to her second leg of the Era’s Tour and upcoming album!