Taylor Swift’s private jet painted orange by Just Stop Oil?

Claim:

Video shows Taylor Swift’s private jet painted orange by climate campaigners Just Stop Oil in the UK.

Rating:

On June 20, 2024, two climate activists from the British environmental group Just Stop Oil reportedly used a circular saw to cut a fence at the private airfield of London Stansted Airport in Essex, United Kingdom. According to their own statements, they then vandalized two private vehicles. jets using fire extinguishers filled with orange paint. Social media was buzzing with claims that one of the planes belonged to pop star Taylor Swift, but this turned out to be false.

Just Stop Oil posted a video of the incident on its X account, showing the apparent vandalism of the two planes and asking for donations. The video received over 6 million views as of this writing and included the following message:

🚨JUST STOP THE PRIVATE OIL PAINT JETS HOURS AFTER TAYLOR SWIFT LANDS

🔥Jennifer and Cole cut the fence at Stansted Private Airfield where

@taylorswift13’s jet is parked, demanding an emergency treaty to end fossil fuels by 2030.

This post did not explicitly claim that Swift’s plane, a Dassault Falcon 7X, had been vandalized, but social media quickly spread this false claim. For example, a post from the X account Visegrád 24 claimed, “Taylor Swift’s private jet was painted orange by ‘Just Stop Oil’ activists,” receiving 2.1 million views at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, the newspaper of a spray paint protest at Stansted Airport.

India’s Free Press Journal also made an equally false statement that “one of the targeted planes was a private jet registered to Taylor Swift.”

The activists, Jennifer Kowalski, 28, and Cole Macdonald, 22, claimed responsibility for the vandalism and were reportedly arrested and charged with criminal damage, aggravated trespass and interference with national infrastructure.

Despite misleading social media posts, several news reports and local authorities confirmed that Swift’s plane was not among the damaged planes. The Just Stop Oil X post did not explicitly state that Swift’s jet was spray painted, but mentioned the time and location in a way that could have contributed to the confusion.

Kowalkski and Macdonald delivered a message on camera in Stansted, with the damaged planes in the background:

Jenn: “Hi, my name is Jenn and this is Cole. We just spray painted the (expletive) on this jet.”

Cole: “And the one behind it.”

…

Cole: “My name is Cole, I’m 22 years old and I just painted two private jets orange. We need an international treaty against the burning of all oil, coal and gas. While people are dying from hungry, the elite and the rich fly thousands and thousands of feet in the air above us all. Billionaires are not untouchable.

Attempts to contact Kowalkski and Macdonald online were unsuccessful.

Flight tracking data located on Swift’s private jet

Flight tracking data and news reports showed that Swift’s Falcon 7X plane had landed at Stansted at around 11pm the previous night, June 19. Local police in Essex and a representative from Stansted Airport told British journalists that Swift’s plane was not at the airfield during the protest. although its exact location is unclear.

Snopes contacted Swift’s representatives, who did not immediately respond.

Snopes spoke to an Essex Police officer, who confirmed that Swift’s private jet was not one of the two planes allegedly damaged by climate activists, informing us that “we figured out because our own communication with the airport that (Swift’s private jet) was not there (at the time of the alleged incident), but we can’t say one way or the other… We don’t know not the comings and goings of private citizens.

A press release from Essex Police, dated Saturday June 22, 2024, did not mention Swift or her private jet, but noted that both accused women had appeared in court earlier that day. According to Essex Police:

Two women charged as part of our response to an incident in the private area of ​​an airfield at Stansted Airport have appeared in court.

Cole Macdonald and Jennifer Kowalski were refused bail and remanded in custody during a hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court earlier today, Saturday June 22.

Both women have denied three charges and will next appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on July 22.

Our investigation was launched early on Thursday 20 June after we were alerted to reports that two people had accessed an area away from the runway and main passenger terminal, before causing damage to two aircraft.

Thanks to our preparation for incidents of this type, officers arrived quickly on scene and two people were arrested within nine minutes of the call.

At the time of writing, Essex Police had not updated information regarding the release of Macdonald and Kowalski.

A representative for Stansted Airport confirmed to Snopes that the incident occurred in a private aviation area of ​​the airport which is not controlled by Stansted. According to the representative, “These operators do not disclose their customers’ details, for security and confidentiality reasons.

According to citizen-run flight tracking data websites – which use publicly available flight data that climate activists also allegedly used to track Swift’s plane to its location in Stansted – the Falcon 7X The singer took off from Warwick, Rhode Island, on June 19 and landed. in the UK that evening. According to flight tracking website TS Jet Tracker, his plane had not left Stansted and remained at the airfield when the spraying incident occurred, contradicting reports from Stansted officials and the police. ‘Essex.

(TS Jet Tracker)

Jack Sweeney, the creator of the website TS Jet Tracker (who rose to prominence through his social media accounts that track the use of private jets by celebrities such as Swift and Elon Musk), denounced the apparent actions by Macdonald and Kowalski. Responding to false social media claims regarding the alleged vandalism of Swift’s plane, Sweeney wrote on X: “Not her plane! The photo is a Gulfstream, Swift does not own one. I condemn these actions.”

Tail numbers don’t lie

All aircraft have unique tail numbers, or registration numbers, assigned by national aviation authorities, ensuring that each aircraft can be individually identified. For example, in the United States these numbers start with “N” followed by a combination of numbers and letters, while in other countries different prefixes are used. This system is essential for monitoring, regulation and security.

While the vandalized plane in the foreground of the video did not have a visible tail number, the vandalized plane with blue stripes in the background showed the tail number N1875A. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), this aircraft is registered to a US Bank Trustee in Wilmington, Delaware.

The tail number of Swift’s private jet is N621MM. According to the FAA, this plane is registered to a company called Island Jet Inc. which reportedly shares the same Nashville address as Taylor Swift Productions.

On Swift’s Falcon 7X aircraft, the tail number is not located on the tail, but rather on two of its three engines located on the sides of the jet. Three years ago, Southend Aviation, a YouTube channel which films planes taking off and landing at UK airports, posted a clip of Swift’s plane taking off from Stansted Airport, with tail number N621MM clearly visible on the right engine.

A screenshot from the X Free Press Journal account shows one of the climate activists spraying the jet in the foreground of the viral video, indicating that, unlike Swift’s private jet, there was no number tail on the right engine of the plane.

(Free press journal/X)

Swift was in the UK for her Eras tour, performing a series of concerts in London before heading to Dublin, with a concert scheduled for June 28 in the Irish capital.

His use of a private jet has drawn criticism for being environmentally irresponsible and tone-deaf, particularly in light of the climate crisis. In 2022, Swift faced backlash for being among the celebrities with the highest private jet emissions. Despite his extensive philanthropic and advocacy work, his frequent use of private aviation remains controversial.

The claim that Just Stop Oil activists spray-painted Swift’s private jet is false. His plane was in Stansted the night before the protest, but it was not among those damaged in the incident, although flight tracking data appears to contradict statements from Stansted Airport and police. Essex regarding the location of the Swift aircraft at the time of the incident.

Snopes previously reported on Swift’s use of private jets.