Dear Taylor Swift Fans,
I know you’re frustrated right now. As the public spotlight on your favorite artist’s life grows brighter, more and more are coming to criticize her and her practices, and you may find it tough to defend her from the allegations that she is polluting 1,800x more than the average person a year. After all, everybody wishes their favorite celebrity was squeaky clean.
Taylor Swift’s total CO2 output was estimated to be around 8,000 tons last year, In just the 36 days between Christmas and January 30th, Taylor Swift was revealed to have produced almost 78 tons of carbon dioxide for trips that are usually as long as 2 hours and as short as 13 minutes. For my fellow mere mortals who know how ridiculously short a 13 minute long flight is, you may already be outraged that so much pollution goes into the air for such a comically minuscule flight, but for those who need to be reminded, 13 minutes is shorter than the time it takes the average American family to finish a meal. By the time the average American arrives to his or her work, Taylor Swift could have taken two of her shortest flights. Mind you, these revelations come after Swift, who has touted herself as a climate activist in the past, embedding pro-environment messages in her songs, spoke about the “worst effects” of climate change, among other subjects. And how has she responded with the accusations? Has she apologized? Pledged not to use a private jet for easily drivable distances? Amped up support for environmentalist movements? How about sending her legal team after the individual who brought the information to light and demanding that he cease revealing any further information?
It’s often hard for the fans of somebody to reconcile with the hard truths of a beloved celeberty’s true character. How did fans who grew up with Bill Cosby reconcile with the grim, disturbing revelations regarding his character? How did fans of Kanye West react when he declared himself a Nazi and denied the Holocaust? What about the Kevin Spacey situation? The problem with people is that nobody is perfect. Our biggest problem is the existence of problems. It’s often that we find nothing wrong with people until we really zoom into their lives. The world is not divided between blind worship and blind hatred. There is a middle line to tread. One of the most respectable values is to call out even the people you love the most. Some actors’ true characters are far more disturbing and irredeemable than others, but for every Bill Cosby, there’s a Robert Downey Jr, and I think Taylor belongs in the camp of the latter rather than the former.
The way Taylor Swift uses her wealth is immoral, harmful to the environment and hypocritical, but that doesn’t mean you need to give her up. You can use your passion and admiration for her for the greater good and to leverage real change for the good of the planet. You have done so much for her over the years, and it’s time for her to do something back.

Sincerely,

Jack J.