With hits like “Love Story” and “Blank Space,” Taylor Swift has become a household name throughout the musical world. Her accolades are nothing short of incredible, as she ranks top in Spotify listeners as well as in celebrity carbon emissions.

These carbon emissions came into question when college student Jack Sweeny spotlighted her frequent private jet usage on X, formerly Twitter. Her “love story” with NFL tight end Travis Kelce has only further fueled the flame, with many criticizing her frequent flights to view his games. This, coupled with a study by UK marketing agency Yard that claims Swift is the leading celebrity in carbon emissions, has caused debate amongst Swift’s fans and foes.

CVHS is not excluded from this controversy, with fans, critics, and bystanders all having their own opinions on the matter.

“I think there are lots of celebrities that use their private jets and aren’t being talked about. People have the right to be concerned about [Taylor Swift’s] usage, but they should be concerned about it because it is a problem, not just to try to make her a villain,” said junior Hannah Gorelick, self-proclaimed Swiftie.

And villainized she has been, with thousands of users on X criticizing her flight from Tokyo to Las Vegas to attend the Super Bowl. She emitted nearly 19,000 miles worth of carbon emissions. “It’s not like other celebrities aren’t contributing mass amounts of carbon emissions with their private jets, but I think [Taylor Swift] uses it for more reasons than she has to,” junior Esteban Gallardo, a critic of Swift, said.

In a survey conducted by Upstream News, 42 percent of students believed Swift’s carbon emission problem was overemphasized. Many believe that her controversy is warranted, but not to the extent that it is currently.

Both Gallardo and Gorelick agree that Swift’s massive popularity plays a significant role in the criticism she receives. Most students seem to agree with this, with survey results showing that 97 percent of students believe that her fame and status contribute to her controversy. This is not surprising due to Swift recently being named Time Magazine’s Person of The Year, as well as her album “Midnights” earning a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. Media coverage surrounding her is at an all-time high, with many monitoring her every action.

This isn’t to say Swift has not made efforts to combat her carbon emissions. Taylor Swift reportedly offsets her  carbon emissions by purchasing “carbon credits”. These carbon credits act as a way to counteract the pollution she creates, with the proceeds from each carbon credit purchased being donated to environmental causes.

Still, some question the morality of her purchasing carbon credits.

“It’s better than nothing. I don’t know if it’s enough to counteract the harmful emissions, but she feels bad enough to buy the carbon credits so she’s trying her best to counteract [her carbon footprint] in any way she can,” said Gorelick.

Gallardo takes a different stance on the matter of Swift’s controversy.

“Everybody contributes to pollution through carbon emissions. It’s just people look at Taylor differently because she has so much fame and money… I think every celebrity should make an effort to combat their carbon emissions because they have the financial ability to do so,” Gallardo said.

However, they agree that celebrities like Taylor Swift are not solely responsible for polluting the environment with carbon emissions. Placing her as the sole focus of criticism highlights the issue but fails to fully showthe reality of the problem.

“Yes, celebrities contribute higher carbon emissions than most, but I think people are ignoring the bigger picture. In reality, it is the large industries and big corporations that contribute the most to carbon emissions, but their actions usually go unnoticed,” said Gorelick.

“Celebrities are not that different from us. Every celebrity is still human, the only difference is how they spend their money. Everyone still plays their part in contributing to carbon emissions,” said Gallardo.