Taylor Swift is a superstar. Taylor Swift is also one of the leading celebrities in CO2 emissions.

Even if you do not like her music, you may respect her craft. She is a self-made singer, songwriter, producer, and CEO. Monthly, she has approximately 57.7 million listeners on Spotify alone.

Here at the Mount, her music is regarded as some of the best. You can often hear her songs being played on Fridays over the loudspeaker, and we have our popular Taylor Swift Club.

In a recent study by the Yard, she was reported to have released 8,293.54 metric tons of CO2 between January 2022 to July 2022 and was crowned “climate criminal.”

Swift and her team have responded to the article saying that her jet was rented out to other people. Regardless, the jet is still hers. No matter how you slice it, that is a bad thing.

The climate crisis is a growing problem. Every year the global temperature increases and our actions against it become more important.

When asking the general school population if these findings influenced their opinion of Taylor Swift, the consensus was the same: they do not mind.

“I am a little bit disappointed but sometimes the music hits too good not to listen to it,” said Kat Dougherty ‘24.

Several thought she was too big of an artist, committing too small a wrongdoing for the problem to hold any weight.

Emily Fisher ‘24 said, “It does not sway my opinion, but as a member of the environmental club, I think she should do better.”

The only person I could find that had a change of heart regarding Taylor Swift was physics teacher, Mrs. Cillio.

She said, “I think that would change my opinion, I have a problem with that.” When asked if she will still be listening to Swift’s new album, she said, “I will because my students love her.”

Because of Taylor Swift’s mega status, not listening to her makes you “weird”. On October 21, when her latest album “Midnights” is released, if you have not listened to it in its entirety the moment it drops, you will most likely feel left out. People adore her.

Because of the role model she has become, she needs to be aware of her influence. Although she has spoken out about climate change before and general “go green” efforts, her frequent plane rides send an incredibly different message.

With her new album being released on October 21, does this change the Mount’s opinion on her, or will we let it slide? Respond in the comments.