We watch celebrities in their private jets, eating dinners carefully prepared by their personal chefs and we can help be but a little jealous. ‘Aspirational’ might be a word we use for this lifestyle they so callously support. Now, recently, quickly rubbing off the charm of this was marketing and analytics agency Yard when they released a scandalising list – revealing the world’s top 10 celebrity CO2 polluters- concluded by the usage of their privately owned jet planes. Through flight tracking maps, their carbon footprints were calculated since the beginning of this year, and the results were equal parts shocking and disappointing.
When Kylie Jenner posted a tone-deaf image of her and beau Travis Scott posing on the tarmac across their separate private planes with a caption reeking of privilege, “You wanna take mine or yours?” She came under the scanner for taking extremely short flights in her private jet and netizens labelled her to be “a climate criminal”. Soon after that, the list rolled out and everyone placed their bets on Kylie, but she wasn’t even in the top 10 (Kris Jenner signed a breath of relief somewhere).
But the name that no one saw coming, let alone topping the list was America’s favourite pop darling—Taylor Swift. Overtaking the top spot in this shame list, while beating names like Kim Kardashian, Drake Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z—Taylor has reportedly taken a total of 170 flights in the past seven months.
More than 8,000 tons of carbon emissions were released during these trips and the average flight time was just 80 minutes. To give you a clearer perspective, what Taylor’s jet reportedly produced in just 200 days, equates to 1,184.8 times more than the average person’s total emissions in an entire year. The Shake It Off singer has been receiving severe backlash, ever since the list was discovered. A fan on Reddit wrote: “Holy s*** Taylor STAY HOME!”, while others roasted her thoroughly on Twitter.
In an attempt to damage control, the Grammy artist’s spokesperson tried to salvage the situation by saying, “Taylor’s jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals. To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect,” which further worsened the situation, as her physical presence in it doesn’t make a difference. What’s even more appalling? Even after the list was released, her CO2 emissions have only increased—25 tons in just three days to be specific.
As for the others, they may not be sharing the top spot with Taylor, but they cannot scream “our planet is dying,” with their various environmental initiatives while their private planes spend hardly a day in the hangars. Especially to an audience that can now see through their facade. Here are all the celebrities who made it to the list and here’s how much they are contributing towards disrupting the planet.
1. Kim Kardashian
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Kim Kardashian, who recently gifted herself a private jet is number 7 on the list. Kim is often seen whisking her family and friends to exotic locations in her luxe plane, which has far emitted 4268.5 tonnes of carbon emissions, 609.8 times more than the average person emits in a year.
2. Oprah Winfrey
You get a plane ride, you get a plane ride and you all get a plane ride. Multi-billionaire television host Oprah Winfrey is known for giving out cars on her show, but in real life, she’s apparently been giving out plane rides using her private jet this year—because, how else do you explain 3,493.17 tonnes of CO2 emission? Which placed her in the 9th position on this scathing list.
3. Jay-Z
Rapper and businessman Jay-Z is 3rd on the list of CO2 polluters. This year itself, the musician has produced 6,981.3 tonnes of CO2 on his private jet. We may be Beyonce stans, but those private island vacations need to be dialled down.
4. Travis Scott
The Astroworld star has emitted 3033.3 tonnes of CO2e so far this year. Between him and his beauty mogul girlfriend, the duo have emerged as major climate disruptors. What’s worse? They blatantly boast about it without a care in the world.
For more on holding celebrities accountable, read here.
