Remember Jack Sweeney, the 19-year-old college student who became famous a few months ago for creating a Twitter account that tracked Elon Musk’s private jet? Jack rose to fame for his flight-tracking endeavor and refusing Musk’s $5,000 offer. Since then, the University of Central Florida sophomore has 30 accounts and is busy updating the world with the flight paths of private celebrity jets and their carbon footprint. Sweeney’s celeb-tracking account @CelebJets blew the whistle on makeup mogul Kylie Jenner’s extensively-discussed 17-minute journey from one Californian city to another. What followed was an outrage of fans and followers who even termed her a ‘climate criminal.’
Drake was also targeted similarly for a 14-minute-long flight (his private jet had gone from his native Toronto to Hamilton, covering 38 miles). On being asked about the same, Sweeney told Fortune that he agreed the “climate criminal” label is fitting but cautioned the focus shouldn’t solely be on the length of the flights. “Even the Kylie Jenner flight, she probably wasn’t on that flight,” Sweeney said. He added, “It’s probably the plane being moved to be parked. I still think it’s bad because it’s being flown, and it’s her plane, but people think she’s just going to another part of town.”
Via Instagram / @kyliejenner
Canadian rapper Drake explained after Real Toronto News asked its followers on Instagram if the Hotline Bling singer was ‘Wrong For Using His $185 Million Jet To Go To Hamilton Or Nah?’ “This is just them moving planes to whatever airport they are being stored at for anyone who was interested in the logistics. Nobody takes that flight,” the rapper stated, shutting down his detractors.
My take on the short flight. I believe it was for parking the aircraft in Camarillo, while they get off at Van Nuys. Same with Kim. It’s probably cheaper to park the aircraft in Camarillo. I can see why people go after them they are posting pics and flexing these jets.
— Jack Sweeney (@JxckSweeney) July 19, 2022
Sweeney himself is not a climate champion. He admitted to having added the feature recently as watchers requested the data. “I think it’s good to bring awareness to that, that these people are flying around, but it wasn’t my number one thing. Kylie and Kim—they’re posting these pictures. They should expect to be tracked. They’re putting it right out there,” he added. “The data is there. I’m just putting it on Twitter, making it easier to see.”
It is no secret that Kardashians get the flak for everything; it is actually Musk who has taken even shorter flights. The reaction to Jenner’s 17-minute flight shocked him because, having tracked nearly every flight the Tesla CEO took, he has witnessed the business magnate take even shorter flights on his private jet sans the hoopla.
According to CNBC, Sweeney stated that Musk had flown multiple times from Los Angeles International Airport to Hawthorne Airport, which is about six miles — a 10-minute drive — apart. I guess the only way climate criminals can escape their crime is by not posting about it themselves. You post, you boast, and then they roast!
