College student who Taylor Swift threatened to sue for tracking celebrities' private jets ‘did nothing wrong’
A student who was served a cease and desist letter from Taylor Swift’s lawyers has hit back with a hilarious dig at the singer as well as a letter from his own lawyers.
Jack Sweeney, a Florida college student, has been tracking Swift's private jet online and said he is doing so to ensure transparency from the singer on her carbon footprint.
Swift has regularly faced criticism for the environmental impact and her apparent consistent use of private jets for travel, even for shorter journeys when other transport options are available.
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Sweeney set up social media pages, under the handle @taylorswiftjets, to document her travel habits but it appeared the star had enough.
The ‘All Too Well’ singer's lawyers issued a cease and desist letter to the owner of the account, saying: "We are aware of your public disputes with other high-profile individuals and your tactics in those interactions, including offering to stop your harmful behavior only in exchange for items of value.
"While this may be a game to you, or an avenue that you hope will earn you wealth or fame, it is a life-or-death matter for our Client. Ms. Swift has dealt with stalkers and other individuals who wish her harm."
However, on Monday (February 19), Sweeney shared his lawyer’s response to this letter.
In a hilarious bit of shade, he posted the letter on X with the caption: "Look What You Made Me Do," in reference to a song by Swift from her 2017 Reputation album.
Sweeney’s lawyer, James Slater of Slater Legal PLLC, wrote in the letter: “Put simply, there is nothing unlawful about [our client Jack Sweeney’s] use of publicly accessible information of track private jets, including those used by public figures like Taylor Swift.
“[He] used the same information to track sanctioned Russian oligarchs and Elon Musk... The @TaylorSwiftJets account is engaged in protected speech that does not violate any of Ms. Swift's legal rights.
“Your letter makes that clear by failing to identify any legal claim.”
The letter stated that Swift’s lawyers only ‘flirted’ with the idea their client could face a stalking claim under California law, but added even this was unlikely.
“We do not know why you believed the best claim against an individual in Florida and his company is a California statute, but that, combined with the absence of any credible legal claim, suggests a groundless effort to intimidate and censor our clients,” Slater finished.
UNILAD has contacted Taylor Swift’s reps, Venable LLP and Slater Legal PLLC for comment.
Topics: Music, Social Media, Taylor Swift, Celebrity
Gerrard Kaonga