Taylor Swift’s attorneys are threatening legal action against the Florida college student who tracks celebrities and prominent figures’ private jets, including Swift’s.
On Tuesday, Jack Sweeney said that he received a cease-and-desist letter from Swift’s solicitors, threatening legal action over the social media accounts he operates that track Swift’s travels. The Washington Post was the first to report the news.
Sweeney is the same individual who famously irritated entrepreneur Elon Musk by tracking his airplane trips online. Musk, who owns X, closed Sweeney’s “@ElonJet” account on the social media network formerly known as Twitter in December 2022.
Sweeney, who was reinstated on the X platform, also maintains accounts that follow the private jet movements of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and a number of other celebrities and prominent figures. Musk has previously stated that the accounts provide a “security risk” for him and his family.
Sweeney manages the accounts on several social media platforms, using publicly available flight data from the Federal Aviation Administration as well as flight signals tracked by individual aviation enthusiasts. He frequently includes estimates of carbon emissions from each flight he tracks in his posts.
Swift’s lead attorney on this matter, Katie Morrone of Venable LLP, accused Sweeney of “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.”
Swift’s “imminent threat to the safety and wellbeing” is claimed in the letter. Sweeney is also accused of ignoring the public safety of others “in exchange for public attention and/or requests for financial gain.”
The letter even mentions CNN’s story that Musk offered Sweeney $5,000 to erase the Twitter account tracking his jet. (Sweeney declined the offer at the time and requested $50,000, claiming he could use the money to pay for college or even purchase a Tesla).
The letter adds that it is a “life-or-death matter” for Swift, who has faced with stalkers and those who want to harm her since she was a youngster. According to the letter, there are “many public cases” of people who have come to Swift’s homes, loaded with firearms and ammunition, and “attempted to harm her.” The letter claims that giving her location information allows these nefarious actors “a roadmap to carry out their plans.”
If Sweeney continues to publish material about Swift’s jet travel, her lawyers said, “She will have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies available to her.”
Sweeney told CNN via email that he received the letter from Swift’s attorneys following stories from non-profit organizations and other sites that questioned the singer’s carbon footprint.
Sweeney also told CNN that he never intended to do harm with his acts, stating that he was gathering “public information.”
“I actually think Swift has some good songs,” Sweeney explained. Still, he stated, “I believe in transparency and public information.” Sweeney also stated that Swift’s admirers are highly interested in the accounts, and that she should have “a decent expectation” that her jet will be traced “whether or not I do it.”
A spokeswoman for Taylor Swift refused CNN’s request for comment on Tuesday. When asked about proof that Swift’s stalkers used Sweeney’s jet-tracking accounts, a Swift representative told the Washington Post, “We cannot comment on any ongoing police investigation, but the timing of stalkers suggests a connection.” His posts indicate exactly when and where she would be.“
Interest in Swift’s impending travels, particularly if she will return to the United States from her foreign tour in time to see her boyfriend Travis Kelce in the Super Bowl, has grown in recent weeks.
Just last week, the Japanese Embassy in the United States tweeted that, despite the long-haul flight back from Tokyo and a 17-hour time difference, Swift should be able to get to Las Vegas in time for the big game if she left Tokyo in the evening following her performance.