Taylor Swift fans sing-along on airplane sparks outrage: ‘This would be torture’

A viral video showing an airplane sing-along to Taylor Swift has sparked a debate online.

In a video posted to TikTok by user @maddisonolsen111, a crowd of passengers are seen sitting on a plane and singing aloud to “Love Story” by Taylor Swift. The clip showed Olsen, along with several women on the plane, waving their hands from side to side as they belted out Swift’s hit 2008 track.

Her video then showed some airline crew members joining in over the speakers. “They’ll never love Taylor like we do,” two female flight attendants sang over the system, as one man with a camera filmed them. At one point during the flight, a flight attendant was even seen dancing to “Shake It Off” in the aisle.

“POV your whole flight are Swifties,” Olsen wrote over the TikTok video, along with the caption: “If this isn’t how you commute to the Eras Tour, then I don’t want it.”

The Grammy winner’s record-breaking Eras Tour resumed in Australia over the weekend, where she performed three back-to-back concerts in Melbourne from 16 February to 18 February. While it seemed that a majority of passengers were on their way to the Eras Tour concert in Olsen’s TikTok video, many people in the comments section shared their sympathy for those who didn’t want to take part in the Swift sing-along.

“This would be torture,” commented one TikTok user.

“My anger issues could never,” said someone else.

“What about the people who aren’t Swifties and are just tryna enjoy their flight,” asked a third user, while another wrote: “I feel bad for other passengers, especially those with sensory issues, claustrophobia or anxiety disorders.”

“I hope there’s a refund for the other passengers, that’s so unfair,” commented one TikToker.

Taking to Instagram on 18 February, Swift thanked the thousands of fans who attended her first three Eras Tour shows in Australia. The “Bad Blood” singer performed the string of shows at Melbourne Cricket Ground over the weekend, before beginning a run of four shows at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on 23 February.

“Melbourne, what do I even say to you after over 288,000 of you came and danced with us in the last three nights??!” Swift captioned her Instagram post. "That was unforgettable. You were on another LEVEL. Thank you for the memories. I’ll revisit the ones from this weekend often.”

Swift’s frequent private jet usage has caused controversy, most recently after college student Jack Sweeney was given a cease and desist letter for tracking Swift’s flight information using public data. The University of Central Florida student, who was issued the legal notice by Swift’s lawyers earlier this month, was accused of “stalking and harassing behaviour” for tracking the flights of Swift’s private jet. He was additionally accused of causing the pop star and her family “direct and irreparable harm, as well as emotional and physical distress”.

“While this may be a game to you, or an avenue that you hope will earn you wealth or fame, it is a life-or-death matter for our Client,” Swift’s legal team argued in the letter seen by The Independent, adding that there is “no legitimate interest in or public need for this information, other than to stalk, harass, and exert dominion and control”.

However, Sweeney clarified to The Independent that his “intentions are not to cause harm”.

“I believe in the importance of transparency and public information,” he wrote in a statement, adding: “Swift’s team suggests that I have no legitimate interest in sharing jet information, which is fundamentally incorrect.

This isn’t the first time Swift’s private jet usage has raised eyebrows, as many critics previously pointed out the level of carbon emissions incurred with every flight. The “Anti-Hero” singer was named the top celebrity polluter in 2022, with her private jet emitting 8,293.54 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

She recently travelled 12 hours from Tokyo, Japan, to Las Vegas, Nevada, to watch her NFL player boyfriend Travis Kelce win the 2024 Super Bowl.