Just a few months ago, people scrutinized Taylor Swift for constantly flying on her private jet, citing the huge negative impact flying (let alone privately) has on the environment. But fans defended her, saying there was no way someone that famous could fly commercial without getting bombarded by fans.
Yet she was pictured over the weekend walking hand-in-hand with her football boo Travis Kelce around Coachella, seemingly unbothered and unswarmed by fans.
While some argue that Coachella attracts a lot of fellow celebrities (the theory being that this makes it safer for Swift), this year, more than half a million people planned to attend—and a good chunk of attendees are just regular people there to have fun.
With the number of fans Swift has, there were 100% Swifties at Coachella, too.
In a viral video, TikToker Bryan (@bryanlicious2) called out the hypocrisy of “weird cult swifties” who were making up stories about the pop star being concerned for her safety, as if she doesn’t have “entire body [guards].”
“You’re telling me that Taylor Swift could be somewhere, and the crowd didn’t immediately attack her? I thought that the mobs were supposed to like kill her. Like that her safety was in question,” Bryan said sarcastically.
“Why can’t her a** go to a regular airport? I’m confused. Oh, it’s because she could,” Bryan continued.
OK, a bit more context here. Just a few months ago, during Super Bowl season, Taylor Swift faced added scrutiny about her avid use of her private jet as people tried to guess if she’d be able to make it on time from her tour stop in Japan (aka the other side of the world) to see Kelce play the Super Bowl in Vegas.
This added spotlight came around the same time Swift sent college student Jack Sweeney a cease-and-desist letter for tracking and publicizing her flights online on the account @taylorswiftjets. In a letter to Sweeney, Swift’s lawyer said the live tracker was a safety concern for Swift.
“Because the Offending Accounts share ‘live’ updates on her destination and the exact time our Client will arrive at a given location, you essentially provide individuals intent on physically harming her, or with nefarious or violent intentions, a roadmap to carry out their plans,” Swift’s lawyer, Katie Morrone, said in the letter, ABC News reported.
But Sweeney doesn’t see it that way, stating he doesn’t intend to cause Swift any harm and is acting in the public’s interest.
“Swift’s team suggests that I have no legitimate interest in sharing jet information, which is fundamentally incorrect,” Sweeney told the Daily Dot. “When the Embassy of Japan in the USA expresses confidence that Swift can make a flight from Tokyo to the Super Bowl, it indicates public interest. Therefore, one should reasonably expect that their jet will be tracked, whether or not I’m the one doing it, as it is public information, after all.”
In the TikTok, Bryan argued that it’s not really about safety for her (though her lawyer did bring it up as a concern) but about convenience and, quite frankly (in his opinion), not caring about the environment.
“She doesn’t care about the world you live in. She wants to fly on her own plane. … They want to purchase that convenience because they don’t care about the climate or the world. They’re not thinking about the future. They don’t even care about how it’s impacting people disproportionately,” Bryan said.
“They’re honestly just like living their life having fun, just a**holes,” Bryan said.
While Swift is known to fly on her own jet, 2023 data collected by myclimate Carbon Tracker suggests that she isn’t even one of the top 30 worst offenders, Indy100 reported. Travis Scott, Kim Kardashian, Elon Musk, Beyoncé and Jay Z (grouped together), and Bill Gates take the top 5 spots, respectively.
@bryanlicious2 Weird cult swifties making up stories about her safety when she has entire body gaurds #taylorswift #swiftie #swifttok #taylornation #taylorswifttiktok #reaction #torturedpoetsdepartment #thetorturedpoetsdepartment #torturedpoets #ttpd #ttptsd #pr #marketing #billionaire #billionairetok #privatejet #taylorswiftprivatejet #fyp ♬ You're On Your Own, Kid – Taylor Swift
Despite this, many commenters heavily agreed with Bryan’s hot take on TikTok.
“WAIT SPEAK ON IT,” a top comment with more than 3,700 likes read.
“My mom sat behind Leonardo DiCaprio on a flight like 6 years ago,” a person said, pointing out that it is possible for super famous people to fly with regular folks.
“The comments are NOT it, yes coachella has a vip section and security….but so does the airport? come on now,” another added.
But others weren’t convinced.
“Coachella has always been full of celebs and there’s an unspoken rule not to bother celebs. Also, Coachella is made to have lots of people moving in a big crowd, in airports the crowds that would come just for her would create more problems then other things,” a commenter wrote.
“I mean pls don’t make me defend billionaires but I’m actually seeing these photos thinking how unsafe it is, like was her whole … team partaking in cokechella with her?” another questioned.
The Daily Dot reached out to Taylor Swift’s management as well as to Bryan for comment via email.
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