Jet-tracking account gave Taylor Swift's stalkers a 'roadmap to carry out their plans,' lawyer says in cease-and-desist letter
Social media accounts tracking Taylor Swift's private jet gave her stalkers a "roadmap to carry out their plans," according to Swift's lawyers in a cease-and-desist letter reviewed by ABC News.
Last December, Swift's lawyers sent the letter to Jack Sweeney, a University of Central Florida student who runs @taylorswiftjets and other accounts that track celebrities' private jets.
"Because the Offending Accounts share 'live' updates on her destination and the exact time our Client will arrive at a given location, you essentially provide individuals intent on physically harming her, or with nefarious or violent intentions, a roadmap to carry out their plans," Swift's lawyer, Katie Morrone, said in the letter to Sweeney.
Arguing that the tracking accounts amounted to "stalking and harassing behavior" that "poses an imminent threat to the safety and wellbeing of our Client," Morrone said that the accounts enable stalkers and increase the risk Swift faces every day.
"Indeed, there are many public cases of individuals who have come to Ms. Swift's residences, including those armed with weapons and ammunition, and attempted to harm her. This reality has forced our Client to live her life in a constant state of fear for her personal safety," the letter stated.
Swift has repeatedly dealt with stalkers, including a man who was held without bail in January after his third arrest outside Swift's New York home in only a few days.
"We cannot comment on any ongoing police investigation but can confirm the timing of stalkers suggests a connection. His posts tell you exactly when and where she would be," a spokesperson for Swift told ABC News regarding Sweeney's plane-tracking accounts.
In a statement to ABC News, Sweeney said that the accounts have since been taken down by Meta, which is the parent company of Instagram and Threads, and that his accounts simply use publicly available data.
"I think the people are interested and that you should have a decent expectation that your jet will be tracked whether or not I do it as after all it is public information," Sweeney said in his statement.
He also claimed that a year ago, in response to headlines about the carbon emissions created by her jet, Swift's team told the media the plane is rarely used by the singer because it's often loaned out.
"The statements by her team directly contradict each other," Sweeney told ABC News.
A spokesperson for Meta and for Swift's legal team could not be immediately reached for comment.
