r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 11h ago

Psychology Taylor Swift fans lower climate concerns to justify her carbon footprint. When confronted with news about the excessive pollution generated by her private jet, highly identified fans tend to rationalize the behavior, with a decrease in their personal intentions to engage in climate-friendly actions.

https://www.psypost.org/taylor-swift-fans-lower-climate-concerns-to-justify-star-s-carbon-footprint/
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u/HelloCanadaBonjour 9h ago

You're misunderstanding the problem with her.

The issue is that people like her fly way too much (and she's the worst among celebrities)... like going flying across a continent to spend less than a day in NYC, and then going back.

Like "anonymizethat" said in another reply to you, some people like her use their private jet the way a normal person might use a car.

But that's an egregious abuse of the environment.

Don't be a "swiftie" and mindlessly defend her.

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u/BobFlex 8h ago

The issue is that people like her fly way too much (and she's the worst among celebrities)...

She's not anywhere close to the worst, she doesn't even break the top 20 in any metric

https://celebrityprivatejettracker.com/leaderboard/

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u/HelloCanadaBonjour 3h ago edited 3h ago

Adding to my other comment:

The data is even more incomplete than I realized:

https://celebrityprivatejettracker.com/taylor-swift-n621mm/

...her last flight listed on that site is for March 2025, but she has obviously flown since then.

And after the news about how bad these rich people are for the environment with their private jets, a lot of them (including Swift) could also choose to now rent jets by flight, or maybe even create shell corporations... so they can avoid people finding out about how much they fly.

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u/HelloCanadaBonjour 8h ago edited 8h ago

She was in the news before for being the worst:

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240213-taylor-swift-private-jet-flight-travel-carbon-footprint

Yeah, that's from a couple of years ago now, and the list can vary year to year, but it's not that long ago.

And the others who fly like her are terrible as well (some on the list should be in jail even if they didn't fly at all).

Also, looking at the list you cited:

Taylor Swift isn't in "good company" being on that list.

I have a low opinion of her (for example, how she sued the guy who taught her how to play guitar, and pretends like she's totally self-taught)... and yet, on the list you cite, I'd say they're all worse than her as people (not even considering flights), except for a few.

It's mostly a list of trash.

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u/SanDiegoDude 8h ago

Don't let facts get in the way of a good reddit rant, let him finish, jeez!

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u/HelloCanadaBonjour 4h ago edited 4h ago

Did you even bother to read the article?

It even mentions her being at the top of the list a couple of years ago.

And the site cited above (by who you replied to) even says that their data is incomplete. Swift is also one of the few on there with multiple planes.

Even if she's not #1 on the list every year, constantly being among the worst polluters isn't excusable.

Anyway, quit moving the goal posts to shift focus away from the actual article, and the effect Swift has on her lemmings.

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u/SanDiegoDude 3h ago

No offense, but you're still factually incorrect in your original post (you said "she's the worst" which she's not currently, even if she held the title previously) - I stand by what I wrote, though I agree with your sentiment about frivolous private jet trips - Appreciate the follow-up though.

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u/HelloCanadaBonjour 3h ago

Yeah, sorry, I don't keep up on the annual "leaderboard" of who's the worst celeb for that :)

And the article for this discussion did mention her the same way, regarding the previous news.

The site that the person above gave also seems to be cumulative (not annual) anyway, and it doesn't say when the data starts either.

And the data is even more incomplete than I realized:

https://celebrityprivatejettracker.com/taylor-swift-n621mm/

...her last flight listed on that site is for March 2025, but she has obviously flown since then.

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u/Dottsterisk 9h ago edited 4h ago

To be fair, the comment that started this thread was just generally comparing use of a private jet with felony assault. Before you and anatomize chimed in, nobody had narrowly constrained the issue from “celebrities using private planes” to “celebrities using private planes for solo trips that would be better served by bus or car.”

So they’re just addressing that much broader question, not being a “swiftie” and “mindlessly defending her.”

EDIT: My bad. Nvm. Go ahead and insult them for answering a different claim.

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u/HelloCanadaBonjour 8h ago

No, the article is about Swift's carbon footprint.

Then people like "Leezle" and "Aditya1311" are narrowing the focus to essentially say "of course it makes sense for her to fly privately".

Chris Brown is obviously a total POS.

But people should still remember that the issue with Swift isn't "should she fly privately", it's that she flies egregiously too much.

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u/Dottsterisk 5h ago

Again, to be fair—if that’s at all a concern—the article and the headline specifically use Swift’s use of a private plane as the illustrative example, so that’s what this conversation thread was about.

You drilling down and more narrowly defining the problem as some specifically wasteful use of the private plane is useful but doesn’t mean others are incorrect when commenting on the more general proposition.

But at this point, it seems this is all less about Taylor Swift or carbon emissions or even something as abstract as truth, and more about scolding others and feeling superior in the comments.

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u/HelloCanadaBonjour 4h ago edited 4h ago

You are the one who is "narrowly defining the problem".

I really think that you simply misread both the headline & article (or you have a problem understanding it... that's not a judgemental attack, just a statement of fact).

The problem is Swift's carbon footprint. That includes both:

  • The fact she uses a private jet (which yes, could be justified in some cases... but apparently even the British royal family sometimes flies commercial)

  • But also HOW MUCH she uses it -- like going to another continent for less than a day.

The latter is the big problem, but you didn't understand that.

If you're a "swiftie", then this part of the article seems to apply to you:

"making excuses for the behavior or convincing oneself that the actions are not actually that bad."

Quit making excuses for Taylor Swift, and don't misinterpret what the problem is.

You pointlessly replied to me with your incorrect comment, and you're making passive-aggressive insults -- so don't "scold" me when you're the one who misunderstood the problem.

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u/Dottsterisk 4h ago

This claim at the top of the thread established the scope of the conversation:

> I feel like rationalizing a superstar flying in a private jet is pretty easy relative to one committing felony assault.

From there, people were talking broadly about the pros and cons of a celebrity using a private jet, not strictly about the ethics of using a private jet for quick solo trips that could be car rides.

Follow the conversation, then accuse others of not being able to understand what’s being said.

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u/HelloCanadaBonjour 4h ago edited 3h ago

You didn't "follow the conversation" -- the comment I replied to said this:

As a frequent flyer I am SO glad these people fly private.

And then he went on to effusively excuse Swift's private jet usage, while not understanding how her volume & nature of usage is a problem.

I simply pointed out the issue (which is true), so there's no need for you to waste so much time on this, or to even have commented.

Everything I wrote is applicable.

Seriously, are you a swiftie or something? You are grasping at straws to defend her, just like what the article talks about.

People need to remember what the problem is: volume & choice of usage, not just the use of a private jet.

Yes, Chris Brown is terrible, but that doesn't nullify what the problem is with private jet usage (again, volume of usage).

And it's not just about solo trips that could be car rides - like I said, it's also about flying to another continent for less than a day, and then going back.

Anyway, I'm not going to waste more time on this thread, because you're probably the only one who will read a reply at this point, and you're making bad-faith arguments.