Taylor Swift Private Jet Map Sparks Debate

An animated map depicting all of the flights Taylor Swift's private jets took last year has become a viral talking point on social media.

With Swift's hit "You Belong With Me" serving as the soundtrack, the illustration shows airplanes with two different tail numbers flying to various destinations around North America, across to the United Kingdom, and down to South America.

The clip—which was shared on X, formerly Twitter, after initially going viral on TikTok—showed a total of more than 175,000 miles flown over the course of 2023 between the two jets. As of press time, the video has garnered more than 25 million views on TikTok and over 38 million views on X.

Newsweek reached out to a representative of Swift via email for comment.

Swift's private jet usage has been a talking point in recent years. In 2022, she faced backlash after a report by environmentally oriented marketing firm Yard found at that time that her extensive use of a private jet made her the biggest celebrity polluter of the year up to that point.

The report used publicly available data to compile a list of the top greenhouse gas-emitting celebrities, based on their routine use of private jets. Swift came out on top, with a total of 170 flights on her private jet that added up to nearly 16 days in the air.

"Taylor's jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals," a spokesperson for Swift told Newsweek at the time. "To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect."

The conversation about Swift's jet use continued in 2023, as the singer-songwriter flew between New York and Kansas City, Missouri, to see her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. She also made trips between performances in South America for her Eras Tour. The star was criticized after it was revealed her private jet flights produced 138 tons of CO2 emissions in just three months.

While data provided by MyClimate Carbon Tracker stated Swift does not crack the top 30 celebrities when it comes to private jet carbon emissions, she has continued to be a talking point online whenever the topic is raised.

Such was the case on April 21, when the clip of Swift's purported 2023 jet use was shared on X in response to a post she had made regarding her newly released studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.

The post sparked a flood of comments from X users, with one writing: "All of this in one year is actually insane but somehow my straw is the problem."

In the same vein, another commented, "Crazy because all those flights probably account to like trillions of plastic straws."

Another wrote, "The music doesn't even slap for her to justify damaging the planet like this."

One detractor suggested that Swift had a fleet of private planes in her "driveway." Records provided by the Federal Aviation Authority's website show that Swift sold one of her two private jets in late January.

Another said, "She really be flying places she could take a tour bus in under 4 hours," in reference to the flights that were U.S.-based.

"The only climate she controlling is the plane's heater," read another post.

Amid the criticisms, a host of other X users defended Swift as they pointed out that much of her travel was due to her record-breaking Eras Tour, which is the first tour in history to have surpassed the billion-dollar mark in revenue.

"Mind you: she was on a world tour which is projected to boost the global economy by $80 billion," wrote one supporter, who added that Swift "caused massive revenue spikes in the food/hotel industries, local shops, etc. all while making massive donations aimed at feeding the poor. But that doesn't fit your narrative [I guess]."

"What do y'all want her to do during tour?? Walk and swim there??" asked one.

"Yeah she was *checks notes* on a world tour," read another fan comment.

One X user called Swift a "QUEEN," while another suggested that a number of the critics online would likely use the same mode of transport if they had the chance.

"I'm not saying it's okay but everyone acting as if they wouldn't do the same if they had their own private jet," they said, adding a GIF for emphasis.

In 2023, pop superstar Swift embarked on an ambitious 21-month-long world tour, spanning 151 shows across five continents. On April 2 of this year, Swift was included for the first time in Forbes' "World's Celebrity Billionaires" list.

The outlet noted that the 14-time Grammy winner became a billionaire in October, due in part to an "estimated $190 million post-tax earnings from her historic Eras Tour." Forbes also announced that Swift was "the first person to [become a billionaire] based solely on songwriting and performing."

According to a study from Greenly released earlier this month, Swift traveled nearly 37,053 miles, generating 77.5 tons of CO2e over almost 113 flight hours during the American leg of her nearly one-year tour. The study was conducted before Swift downsized to a single private jet.

For her South American leg, the celebrated artist is believed to have emitted 61.6 tCO2e, having traveled 29,431 miles. Therefore, the Eras Tour has emitted 139 tons in CO2e emissions for 66,484 miles worth of travel for the North American and South American legs alone.

This does not consider the fact that Swift has also flown to Asia and Australia for her world tour and still has the European leg to go.

Swift was also estimated to have traveled 20,000 miles alone during the Super Bowl weekend to watch boyfriend Kelce play. She made two round trips across the Pacific Ocean for the Japan and Australian legs of the Eras Tour. These numbers are likely to continue this summer as the tour arrives in Europe.

Swift's publicist previously told The Associated Press that the singer "purchased more than double the carbon credits needed to offset all tour travel," before her tour began, but did not provide any further details.

Much of the controversy over Swift's private jet usage is due to what people deem as unnecessary travel. For instance, Swift was spotted traveling from Buenos Aires back to New York City in November 2023 before the Rio Shows began during the South American leg of the Eras Tour. Throughout the U.S. leg of the tour in Spring 2023, Swift often traveled back and forth between the city where she held her concert and her residence in New York City.