getty Celebrity excess has been the subject of heated debate of late, with Kylie Jenner drawing attention to the excessive amount of pollution emitted by the wealthy after using her private jet to take a 17-minute flight and then following up with a post on Instagram showing off. her ability to fly to the grocery store. Jenner has been labeled a “climate criminal,” with Instagram and Twitter users expressing frustration at public efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle being dragged down by private jet fumes. Now, the UK-based sustainability marketing company has put together a ranking list of the biggest celebrity ‘climate criminals’ and Taylor Swift tops the list, with her plane having made at least 170 flights in 2022, with a total CO2 emissions to be 8,293. tons, according to Yard data. Swift immediately overtook Jenner as the face of the problem, though many reacted with as much surprise as anger. After all, extravagance and criminal indulgence are baked into the Kardashian-Jenner brand, while Swift has cultivated a more down-to-earth image. The contrast struck many as amusing, and Swift soon became the subject of ridicule. Twitter users began posting fake Swift Tweets imagining the singer harbors a burning hatred for environmentalism, while others jokingly pointed out Swift’s song lyrics referencing airplanes. Responding to the backlash, Swift’s rep clarified with Rolling Stone that the singer’s jets weren’t always used by her, stating: “Taylor’s jet is regularly loaned out to other people. To attribute most or all of these trips to her is grossly wrong.” The clarification came as no surprise—despite her cottage persona, fans understand that Swift is just as ruthlessly businesslike as the Kardashian-Jenners. On Taylor Swift’s fan subreddit, r/TaylorSwift, fans expressed their frustration with the singer, noting that Swift’s jets being loaned to others wasn’t the point — it’s that Swift’s jets were capable of dropping truckloads of coal in our sky, the singer seemingly makes no effort to reduce carbon emissions. Some fans had the opposite reaction and simply refused to acknowledge the problem, calling the list “disinformation”. One particularly devoted fan even posted his own list on Twitter, highlighting Swift’s alleged contribution to environmentalism. Said list included Swift selling one of her two private jets and highlighted the singer’s love of penguins. the thread was quickly deleted after everyone on the internet laughed at it. Of course, Swift wasn’t the only “climate criminal” on the list. Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Jay-Z placed 2nd and 3rd, respectively, while Alex Rodriguez, Blake Shelton, Steven Spielberg, Kim Kardashian, Mark Wahlberg, Oprah Winfrey and Travis Scott were the remaining polluters (ironically, Kylie Jenner didn’t actually the list). In response to the data being released about his own wasteful flights, Drake also tried to set the record straight, telling fans that three of his ridiculously short flights were empty, which didn’t exactly dampen the backlash. The rich and famous don’t seem interested in reducing their emissions, only justifying them. Public access to flight data must be a real headache – celebrities sure want to blast their broadcasts in secret. But as heat records continue to explode and the air becomes heavy with smoke, those little paper straws and recycling bins aren’t going to cut it – the public throw water balloons at a house fire, while the rich throw gasoline. Celebrities aren’t going to have a sudden change of heart, but they may just be pressured to cut back on their obscene spending. After all, approval and validation is one of the few things the public can take away from them.
