For nearly two years there’s been a lot of chatter and debate about Taylor Swift’s usage of her private jet. Back in 2022, it was reported that she used her private jet 170 times and her carbon emissions were at 8,293.54 metric tons. Since then, it’s remained a hot topic, especially after the pop star sent a cease and desist letter to a college student tracking her flights. Now, a BBC presenter has weighed in on the debate, criticizing her usage of her planes and asking her to do something to counteract them.
Chris Packham, the host of the BBC Two show Spingwatch, spoke to The Mirror about Taylor Swift and her private jet usage, noting that what caused his annoyance was the cease and desist letter that was sent to Jack Sweeney, the man who was tracking Swift’s flights. Speaking passionately about this, the presenter said:
We know that private jets are the single greatest contributor when it comes to jet aviation fuel and the least efficient because they’re carrying one person. And so he called her out and she threatened to sue him. And I just thought, ‘You really missed the trick there, Taylor’.
He continued to explain why Swift “missed the trick,” and gave an example of what she could have done when this issue with Sweeney cropped up. Packham proposed that the pop star should have acknowledged her jet usage and done something to curb the negative impact it has, saying:
What you should have said is, ‘You’re right, times have moved on. I’ve got to change my practice. I’m going to sell my private jets’. And that would have been such a powerful thing for her to say to an audience. And I mean, her audience is primarily a young audience, isn’t it? I mean, you can’t say she’s responsible for climate breakdown. But she’s an icon. And as a consequence of that, she should be leading.
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Continuing to speak about how much he dislikes the singer’s use of private jets, Packham invited her to join the Walk for Nature rally in London with him. The event is happening on June 22, which is when she will be playing her shows at Wembley Stadium, and he said he’d love it if she attended it and said she wouldn’t use private planes anymore.
Over the last year, between the cease and desist letter and the Eras Tour, there’s been a lot of discussion about Swift’s jet usage. Last summer, people noticed that she’d play a concert, and then be spotted in New York City days later. Also, since her boyfriend is Travis Kelce, she’d attend his games and fly from city to city to support him. Notably, when the Kansas City Chiefs played in the Super Bowl, Swift flew from Tokyo to Las Vegas to make the game after playing a concert in Japan.
The debate and discourse around this subject has been pretty wild for a long time. It even got to the point where people were theorizing that she attended the Jets vs. Kansas City game so people searching for Taylor Swift and jet on Google would get results relating to her cheering on Kelce rather than her private jet usage. Of course, that’s only a conspiracy, however, it’s also a good example of the amount of attention that’s on this issue.
As Taylor Swift’s projects continue to drop and she keeps traveling across Europe throughout the summer on the Eras Tour, I imagine the debate about her jet usage will continue. If more information comes out about it, the cease and desist letter or more public figures talking about all of this, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.