Taylor Swift Amy Sussman/Getty Images
The college student tracking Taylor Swift’s private jet has clapped back at the pop star’s cease and desist letter.
Jack Sweeney shared a reply by his attorney via X on Monday, February 19, captioning the post “Look What You Made Me Do,” in reference to a track off Swift’s 2017 Reputation.
“Put simply, there is nothing unlawful about GRNDCTRL’s use of publicly accessible information to track private jets, including those by public figures like Taylor Swift,” Sweeney’s attorney James Slater wrote.
Slater argued that the account “poses no threat” to Swift’s safety because it uses only “publicly available information.” (Sweeney takes public information from the Federal Aviation Administration as well as data from volunteers who track their own signals.)
Taylor Swift is one of the most-decorated musicians of all time — but her pop star reputation didn’t come without a few controversies. Swift dropped her self-titled debut album in 2006, kickstarting her country career. Over her next eight albums, she began to branch out of her original genre and cross over into pop territory. […]
“The @taylorswiftjets account is engaged in protected speech that does not violate any of Ms. Swift’s legal rights,” Slater wrote.
Sweeney’s social media accounts are used by fans to track the singer’s whereabouts and in recent months to speculate whether Swift, 34, was attending Kansas City Chiefs games to Relationship-timeline/”>cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce.
Slater noted that Sweeney’s social media accounts also reported flight history for other public figures, including Russian oligarchs and Elon Musk.
Taylor Swift Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
The “Karma” singer threatened legal action against Sweeney earlier this month. The letter stated that Swift would “have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies” if he didn’t stop his “stalking and harassing behavior.”
Per the legal document, Swift has felt a “constant state of fear for her personal safety” due to the information shared on Sweeney’s social media.
“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,” Swift’s attorney Katie Wright Morrone wrote, noting there’s “no legitimate interest in or public need for this information, other than to stalk, harass, and exert dominion and control.”
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Swift’s spokesperson, Tree Paine, also shared a statement with the Washington Post suggesting that Sweeney’s social media accounts have helped Swift’s stalkers.
“We cannot comment on any ongoing police investigation but can confirm the timing of stalkers suggests a connection,” the statement read. “His posts tell you exactly when and where she would be.”
Sweeney shared that the letter arrived at his home around the time Swift was facing controversy for her flights’ environmental impact.
“This information is already out there,” he told the outlet. “Her team thinks they can control the world.”
Amid the backlash, Musk, 52, took to X to weigh in on and confirmed he was on Swift’s side, writing, “Sweeney is an awful human being. Taylor Swift is right to be concerned.”
Sweeney was previously banned on X in 2022 for following Musk’s aircraft. Musk threatened legal action against Sweeney after he alleged a stalker followed him when he was with his son, X Æ A-12. (Police later said Sweeney wasn’t involved with the incident and identified a member of Musk’s security team as a suspect instead, per BBC.)