Springwatch host Chris Packham has made a plea to Taylor Swift over her controversial private jet usage.
In previous years, the popstar has topped the list of private jet polluters, with the singer having made 170 trips on her private jet in 2022.
Swift’s team defended the singer in a statement, with a representative telling Rolling Stone: “Taylor’s jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals. To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect.”
In response, Swift also threatened to sue a college student this year for tracking her private jet on the grounds of his “stalking and harassing behaviour”. Jack Sweeney – a junior at the University of Central FLorida – runs an X/Twitter account sharing publicly available information about private jet landings and takeoffs that usually belong to various celebrities, billionaires, politicians and other public figures.
Now, Chris Packham has claimed the singer “missed a trick” by sending Sweeney a cease-and-desist, rather than saying something “powerful” about climate change.
Speaking to The Mirror, Packham said: “What you should have said is, ‘You’re right, times have moved on. I’ve got to change my practice. I’m going to sell my private jets.'”
“You can’t say she’s responsible for climate breakdown,” the presenter added. “But she’s an icon. And as a consequence of that, she should be leading.”
Swift isn’t the only musician who’s faced backlash for their private plane use, with Drake recently being criticised after his private jet made a 14-minute flight. On July 23, CelebJets tweeted that the rapper’s plane had gone from Toronto to Hamilton — both in the state of Ontario. Per the post, the 38-mile flight used 1,522 litres of fuel, and was responsible for four tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Responding to the tweet, Drake said: “This is just them moving planes to whatever airport they are being stored at for anyone who was interested in the logistics. Nobody takes that flight.”
In other news, Stranger Things star Joe Keery has said Taylor Swift is a fan of his music.
