Why Is Kylie Jenner a “Climate Criminal”?

The travel habits of celebrities are tracked on accounts like @celebjets, but they’re exposing a different kind of inequality

Private airplane with red carpet
Private jets are luxurious, are they stupid?
Jupiterimages via Getty

Private air travel is one of the most luxurious things to have access to, and no one chronicles it better than the Kardashian clan. From photos of PJs on the runway to completely personalized interiors, if you want to see ultra-wealth, you can find it through the Kardashians’ social media. 

Now, however, the youngest Kardashian sister, Kylie Jenner, has been “exposed” by another social media account, @celebjets on Twitter, which documents when celebrities’ private jets take off and land. On July 12, Jenner’s private jet took off from Camarillo, California, going to Van Nuys, California. The total flight time? Three minutes. (We get it, LA traffic is bad, but is it that bad?) 

The internet was quick to respond, with many focusing on how everyday consumers are told to use less single-use plastic and recycle while the ultra-rich take sub-10 minute flights, and Kylie and her partner, rapper Travis Scott, were labeled “climate criminals.”

Of course, Jenner isn’t the only celebrity who has taken quickie flights; rapper Drake flew a total of 15 minutes from Hamilton to Toronto in Canada. Elon Musk was in the air for nine minutes to get to San Francisco. One report from The Guardian found that on one of Mark Wahlberg’s 40 minute flights to Las Vegas, he burned the average annual global emissions of one person. 

Private jets are seen as the pinnacle of achievement, allowing those who can afford them to skip over the lines and, well, everyday people of the airport in favor of a private experience. With rising temperatures sending Europe into an unprecedented heatwave and California’s own wildfire season getting longer and longer, it’s impossible to ignore the discrepancies between the messaging normal people are receiving on climate change and the way the ultra-wealthy continue to live. 

The account is just a bot, not someone who’s attempting to expose mega-celebrities for their CO2 emissions, but the outcome is the same: widespread calls for the people who are guilty of these shamefully short flights to take a little accountability and push for climate action. 

Jenner has limited comments on her photo of her and Scott’s private jets, and both have yet to respond. 

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