Just Stop Oil Activist Told Court She Targeted Taylor Swift’s Jet to Prompt Climate Statement

Two Just Stop Oil activists accused of spraying orange paint on two private jets at Stansted Airport told a jury they had hoped their action would prompt pop star Taylor Swift to speak out about climate change.

Jennifer Kowalski, 29, of Dumbarton, Scotland, told jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday that she and co-defendant Cole Macdonald, 23, planned to target what they believed to be Swift’s private jet in the early hours of June 20 last year. The aircraft they sprayed, prosecutors say, in fact belonged to an insurance company and an investment group.

Kowalski, who described herself as a "former Swiftie," said she had hoped the stunt would "shake" Swift "from this place of apathy" over private jet use and climate change. She told the court she was autistic and that Swift had been a childhood special interest, but that her view of the singer changed as Swift’s private jet usage attracted public criticism.

Opening the prosecution case, David Barr said a hole was cut in the airport perimeter fence at 5:02 a.m. The defendants allegedly walked onto the airfield, sprayed orange paint from fire extinguishers onto two Gulfstream jets, filmed the action and then sat on the tarmac holding hands until police arrived. Police were called at 5:09 a.m. and arrived at 5:18 a.m., the court heard; the airport’s first scheduled commercial flight that day was at 5:45 a.m.

Kowalski told jurors she believed the substance loaded into the extinguishers was water-based, "children’s paint" that would wash off. A witness from a company that professionally cleans aircraft, Zoe Varzi, told the court the substance had penetrated screw holes and window rubbers and that incorrect removal could have caused uneven surface texture affecting airflow. Jurors were told staff spent a total of 45 hours over several days cleaning the paint under the supervision of a Gulfstream engineer to select appropriate cleaning materials.

Macdonald, of Brighton, denied wanting to cause broader disruption and said the area accessed was among the furthest from runways. She told the court she did not initially see Swift’s plane and that the pair had tried to act before the airport opened to avoid disrupting regular passengers.

Kowalski, a former sustainability manager, told the court she had taken part in previous climate protests. Court records show she has two earlier convictions: one for throwing paint at a government building in Edinburgh in 2022 and another for failing to leave an oil terminal occupation in 2023. Macdonald has no previous convictions, the court heard.

The defendants deny charges of criminal damage to the two jets. Prosecutors say the breach of the perimeter fence and the spray-painting constituted criminal damage; the defence has argued the action was intended as a protest without the intent to cause lasting harm. The trial is ongoing at Chelmsford Crown Court.