Pop diva Taylor Swift attorneys have threatened legal action against a student who has been tracking the celebrity’s private jet via social media.
Swift’s lawyers have sent multiple letters to Jack Sweeney, a student at the University of Central Florida, and demanded that he stop tracking and sharing the flight information of the singer online, the Washington Post first reported.
Sweeney has run social media accounts for several years that log the takeoff and landings of planes owned by billionaires, politicians and celebrities. He uses data publicly available from the Federal Aviation Administration, and often measures the carbon emissions from each flight.
Swift’s attorney wrote Sweeney a cease-and-desist letter in December saying Swift would “have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies” if he did not stop what they call “stalking and harassing behavior.”
The singer claimed that Sweeney’s social media accounts have caused her and her family “direct and irreparable harm” and “emotional and physical distress.” Sweeney shared a copy of the letter with the Post.
A spokesperson for Swift said they cannot comment on ongoing police investigations but confirmed that there is a connection between the singer’s stalkers and the jet-tracking online accounts.
Sweeney told the outlet that he thinks it was an attempt to scare him away from sharing public data.
Swift and other celebrities have been criticized for their use of private jets and its impact on climate change. Sweeney’s accounts were cited in a 2022 study that found that Swift was reportedly one of the biggest celebrity carbon dioxide polluters of 2022, according to the Post.
His accounts were later blocked by Meta, the parent company for Facebook and Instagram. Swift’s lawyer then sent a second letter and said Sweeney was participating in “harassing conduct,” the Post reported.
Swift’s travel plans have been in the spotlight this week. She will be performing at her highly-popular “The Eras Tour” in Japan ahead of her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s appearance with the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. The Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. confirmed that Swift has ample time to fly from her Tokyo show to Las Vegas for the game.
Taylor-mania hits Tokyo
Taylor Swift will celebrate making Grammys history with a run of concerts in Tokyo starting Wednesday, kicking off a month of sell-out shows in Asia that will include a quick run home to see her boyfriend contest the US Super Bowl.
Hundreds of excited fans queued in the cold from morning to buy merchandise at Tokyo Dome before the four shows, part of the megastar's Eras Tour -- the first billion-dollar-tour ever.
"It's us, hi! We are Swifties from Taiwan!" read a huge fabric banner featuring 10 pictures of Swift's face, held up by a group of fans outside the 55,000-capacity arena.
Results of a hotly contested ticket lottery for Swift's Japan dates were announced in July, with some fans travelling to Tokyo -- even if the tour was coming to them.
"We came just for the concert as we couldn't get tickets in Australia," laughed 18-year-old Ebony Donohue.
"I'm so excited to finally see her. All her music is so different. She's so relatable, and strong and amazing."
Others wearing Taylor Swift T-shirts and miniskirts snapped pictures, while those in a long line for branded goods said they had been waiting years for this moment.
"I've been listening to her songs since I was in middle school, about 10 years. This is the first time I'll see her in concert, and I've been so excited since the moment we were able to get tickets," 25-year-old Saya Matsuo told AFP.
"She is someone who can grab people's hearts, make people sing and dance. I love her personality."
Hikari Oka and Honoka Shimabara, both 18-year-old students, had been waiting since before 9 am for the merchandise stall that opened at midday.
"When I listen to her songs I feel energised, and it also gives me confidence," Oka said.
Swift-mania has reached fever pitch worldwide after the 34-year-old on Sunday scooped her fourth Album of the Year prize at the Grammys on Sunday.
That is the most held by any artist and breaks the joint record of three previously held by Swift and the likes of Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.
- Super Bowl dash -
Straight after her last Tokyo concert wraps up on Saturday, Swift will make a pit stop at this weekend's Super Bowl, where she is expected to cheer on her current beau Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs from the VIP suites.
The pop icon will then play dates in Australia and Singapore before heading to Europe on the tour that is predicted to make a staggering estimated $2 billion.
An influx of fans to the concerts has been shown to create a so-called "Swift effect" on local economies.
Travel technology company Amadeus reported an "extraordinary increase in interest" in search traffic for travel to cities in the Asia-Pacific region visited on the Eras Tour.
Swift is not even the only global superstar in Tokyo this week.
Lionel Messi's Inter Miami is facing Vissel Kobe in a pre-season friendly at Tokyo's National Stadium on Wednesday night, but it was still uncertain whether the injured Argentina great would play.
With hundreds of millions of social media followers and a staunchly loyal fan base, politicos -- and conspiracy theorists -- have even opined on Swift's potential impact on the upcoming US presidential election.
Some right-wing critics have floated the baseless theory that the pop icon's burgeoning romance with Kelce is evidence of a "deep-state" plot to rig the Super Bowl and help get US President Joe Biden reelected.
But NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has dismissed such conspiracy theories as "nonsense".