Photo Credit: Just Stop Oil
Climate protesters with the activist group Just Stop Oil spray painted several private planes, intending to target Taylor Swift’s jet.
A pair of climate change protesters associated with activist group Just Stop Oil spray painted several private jets housed in a UK airfield, intending to target Taylor Swift’s plane under the belief that it had just arrived. The two activists were detained by Essex police not long thereafter.
The group posted a tweet on Thursday morning (June 20) that activists Jennifer Kowalski and Cole MacDonald had cut through the Stansted Airport’s fence to gain entry. Once on the property, the duo used fire extinguishers filled with orange paint to vandalize a number of planes, as a statement to pressure the UK government to cease the extraction and burning of oil, gas, and coal by 2030.
“We’re living in two worlds: one where billionaires live in luxury, able to fly in private jets away from the other, where unlivable conditions are being imposed on countless millions,” said MacDonald. “Meanwhile, this system that is allowing extreme wealth to be accrued by a few, to the detriment of everyone else, is destroying the conditions necessary to support human life in a rapidly accelerating, never-ending ‘cruel summer.’ Billionaires are not untouchable; climate breakdown will affect every single one of us.”
“Over the years, I’ve had to realize that even working in sustainability provides me with essentially no ability to make the necessary changes to prevent the complete collapse of our natural systems. I have to take desperate measures to make my voice heard,” added Kowalski. “In 2024, we all have to be considering what we can do each day to change the course our society is on. We need an emergency treaty to stop the extraction and burning of oil, gas, and coal by 2030.”
According to police close to the situation, Swift’s Falcon 7x jet had not yet reached the Stansted Airport, yet flight tracking data indicates the plane arrived at around 11 PM the night before. Either way, it seems that the superstar’s jet was spared from the display, despite the activists’ plans to target it.
Taylor Swift has been the subject of criticism for the past few years for the seemingly excessive use of her private jet. According to flight log data compiled by University of Central Florida student Jack Sweeney, Swift was “the biggest celebrity CO2e polluter” in 2022. Swift’s attorneys later sent Sweeney a cease and desist letter.
Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour continues in Europe throughout the end of the year before heading back stateside for a final leg ending in December.
