Taylor Swift performing with microphone in hand – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Brian Friedman
Taylor Swift’s lawyers have threatened to take legal action against the Florida college student who tracks Swift and other public figures’ private jets.
On Tuesday, Jack Sweeney told CNN that he had received a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action regarding the social media profiles he maintains that follow Swift’s travels. The Washington Post broke the story first.
The billionaire Elon Musk once took issue with Sweeney for publicly following his airplane flights online. In December 2022, Musk—who owns X—closed Sweeney’s “@ElonJet” account on the once-popular social media network Twitter.
Re-instated on the X platform, Sweeney also manages accounts that follow the travels of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and numerous other public figures and celebrities on their private jets. Musk has declared in the past that he and his family are at “security risk” because of the accounts.
Using both publicly available flight data from the Federal Aviation Administration and flight signals tracked by individual aviation enthusiasts, Sweeney runs multiple social media accounts. He frequently includes estimates of carbon emissions from each flight he tracks in his posts.
The December letter from Swift’s lead attorney on this issue, Katie Morrone of Venable LLP, accuses Sweeney of engaging in “stalking and harassing behavior, including consistently publishing real-time and precise information about our client’s location and future whereabouts to the public on social media.”
This presents an “imminent threat to the safety and wellbeing” of Swift, according to the letter. Sweeney is also charged with ignoring other people’s safety “in exchange for public attention and/or requests for financial gain.”
Even the CNN allegation that Musk offered Sweeney $5,000 to deactivate the Twitter account that was tracking his jet is mentioned in the letter. At the time, Sweeney declined this offer and requested $50,000, stating he might utilize the funds for education expenses or maybe a Tesla purchase.
Swift, who has battled with stalkers and other people who want her harm since she was a youngster, claims in the letter that it is a “life-or-death matter.” According to the letter, there are “many public cases” of people who have visited Swift’s homes, some of them equipped with firearms and ammunition, and “attempted to harm her.” According to the letter, revealing her whereabouts provides these nefarious individuals with “a roadmap to carry out their plans.”
Swift’s attorneys said that if Sweeney keeps releasing details about her plane travels, “she will have no choice but to pursue any legal remedies available to her.”
Through email, Sweeney informed CNN that he had received the letter from Swift’s lawyers following media and non-profit reports that examined the singer’s carbon footprint.
Additionally, Sweeney told CNN that he was gathering “public information” and that he never meant for his activities to cause harm.
“I actually think Swift has some good songs,” Sweeney added. Still, he said, “I believe in transparency and public information.” Sweeney also said there is high public interest from Swift’s fans in the accounts, saying she should have “a decent expectation” that her jet will be tracked “whether or not I do it.”
CNN’s request for comment on Tuesday was denied by a representative of Taylor Swift. A Swift spokesperson told the Washington Post, in response to questions concerning proof that her stalkers had utilized Sweeney’s jet-tracking accounts, that “we cannot comment on any ongoing police investigation but can confirm the timing of stalkers suggests a connection.” His posts give you precise details about her whereabouts and timing.
Swift’s forthcoming travels have sparked increased curiosity in recent weeks, particularly around the possibility that she won’t return to the US from her international tour in time to watch her boyfriend Travis Kelce play in the Super Bowl.
Swift should be able to make it to Las Vegas in time for the big game if she leaves Tokyo in the evening following her show, according to a statement posted by the Japanese Embassy in the US just last week, despite the long trip back from Tokyo and the 17-hour time difference.
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Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
