Never meet your heroes, they say.
Just nine years ago biology student Jennifer Kowalski and her sister Lisa were among 15 lucky fans to come face to face with Taylor Swift backstage in Glasgow.
The pop megastar, in the midst of her 1989 world tour, looked thrilled as the Scottish Swiftie siblings lifted her in the air after her sell-out show to 14,000 people at the SSE Hydro Arena in 2015.
The sisters were wearing Tay Tay-inspired dresses and had even adapted their white trainers by writing 1989 on them before the dream-come-true meeting.
But today Jennifer was one of two Just Stop Oil zealots who broke into Stansted armed with fire extinguishers filled with orange paint in search of her idol’s private jet, which landed at the airport last night carrying her parents.
Swifties haven’t been happy with her use of private jet use and at 5am this morning Kowalksi and co-conspirator Cole Macdonald, 22, defaced two planes on the Tarmac in the VIP area of the airfield – but apparently couldn’t find Taylor’s.
The friends hugged after the attack and laughed as they said into camera: ‘We just spray-painted the f*** out of this private jet – and the one behind’.
MailOnline can reveal how Kowalski had once considered Swift her hero, calling her a ‘legend’ and claiming lyrics about being ‘polite’ but ‘powerful’ was her favourite quote.
Jennifer Kowalski (left) and her sister Lisa list up Taylor Swift backstage in 2015. Today former Swiftie Jennifer broke into Stansted searching for Taylor’s private jet armed with orange paint – all in her support of Just Stop Oil
Kowalski (left) and her co-conspirator Cole Macdonald (right), who was in court last month
Jennifer Kowalski, 28, (pictured) is one of the JSO protesters who broke into Stansted to spray-paint private jets
Kowalski shared this collage of Taylor Swift on her Facebook page while she was a university student
Macdonald outside court with a Palestine flag
Taylor Swift’s plane after landing at Stansted last night
On board was Swift’s father Scott (pictured) and mother Andrea as well as personal possessions and what appeared to be wine
Her family would even throw parties when Taylor released new music and they saw her perform on a number of occasions in the UK. Kowalski also shared a collage of her favourite pictures of Taylor on Facebook while a biology student at the University of Aberdeen, which could have been homemade.
And in a Q&A for an environmental magazine she was asked to tell readers something ‘interesting about herself’, and replied: ‘In 2015, I was one of 15 people chosen, out of about 14,000 to meet the legend that is Taylor Swift backstage after her show in Glasgow’.
She added that Taylor Swift’s song Marjorie, released in 2020, was an inspiration and the lyrics ‘Never be so polite, you forget your power; never wield such power, you forget to be polite’, was her favourite quote.
Yet despite these words, today she busted her way into Stansted.
Most recently the green fanatic says she was employed by the Department for Work and Pensions as a Sustainability Manager – even though she was also a proud ‘full time activist’ for JSO.
Kowalski is still listed as a civil servant on her LinkedIn but MailOnline understands she left the DWP earlier this year.
MailOnline can also reveal that her co-conspirator at Stansted, Cole Macdonald, 22, is a JSO activist from Brighton who was in court only a few weeks ago for another stunt – this time for the Palestinian cause.
Kowalski and Macdonald were arrested at Stansted this morning after cutting through a fence. They then ran into the VIP area of the airfield and began spraying private jets before posing for selfies in front of the planes and hugging each other while waiting for police to arrive.
Just Stop Oil claimed Taylor Swift’s luxury jet was parked there while she is in the UK for her Eras Tour. But MailOnline understands it was not one of the two jets defaced.
Video taken from the scene shows the two activists brazenly cutting through a wire fence at the perimeter of the airfield
The pair then proceed to spray paint a series of jets before sitting proudly in front of their vandalism and embracing
The group say they spray painted aircraft ‘hours after Taylor Swift ‘s own jet arrived’
Swift is in the UK for her world tour
Macdonald was arrested and charged after she ‘locked on’ to a road in Sussex in protest against an American arms company based there as part of a Pro-Palestine protest last year.
She pleaded not guilty at a hearing in May and will appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court in October where, if convicted, she could face up to six months in prison and a fine for a public order offence.
Critics have said that her attack on Stansted again shows how often protesters are being bailed before committing more crimes.
The attack came less than 24 hours after JSO yobs appalled the world by spraying Stonehenge orange.
The protesters have been held on suspicion of criminal damage and interference with the use of national infrastructure.
Yesterday, the headline-grabbing group targeted Stonehenge in Wiltshire by attacking the ancient monument with spray paint – leading Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to brand them ‘a disgrace’.
It is the latest in a series of attention seeking stunts the group has foisted on the public this summer
Two Just Stop Oil activists have broken into a VIP private airfield at Stansted airport
Far from raising awareness of climate change, their antics sparked widespread condemnation after it emerged activists could have irreparably damaged rare lichen that lives on the rock.
Footage from Stansted this morning shows the pair brazenly cutting through a wire fence at the perimeter of the airfield and crawling under to gain access.
The pair then proceed to spray paint a series of jets before sitting proudly in front of their vandalism and embracing in a smug hug.
Sharing their breaking and entering on social media, a spokesman for the group ‘justified’ the action by declaring that ‘80% of the population had never taken a flight.’
MailOnline understands the pair have since been arrested and has approached Essex Police for information.
Speaking before the stunt, Jennifer Kowalski, 28, who describes herself as a full time JSO activist on Linked In claimed she ‘had to take desperate measures to make her voice heard.’
It is the latest in a series of attention seeking stunts the group has foisted on the public this summer.
Yesterday, members of the public were forced to intervene after two Just Stop Oil protesters sprayed Stonehenge with orange paint sparking widespread condemnation.
Just Stop Oil protesters have sprayed Stonehenge with orange paint yesterday
Video footage posted on social media showed two people, wearing white shirts with Just Stop Oil emblazoned on the front, running up to the ancient monoliths with canisters and spraying paint all over them.
In a heroic attempt to stop the group desecrating the stones, one woman was seen desperately trying to drag the protesters away before other members of the public piled in to help her.
The protesters, who were named as Niamh Lynch, 21, a student from Oxford, and Rajan Naidu, 73, from Birmingham, have now been arrested by police on suspicion of damaging the historical monument.
As police officers led the pair away, one man could be heard shouting: ‘You dirty scum. This is a temple, not a publicity stunt!’
Several stones – dating back to the late Neolithic period – were covered during the incident, which happened at around 12pm today, the day before the summer solstice is celebrated at Stonehenge, which is the heart of a World Heritage site.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has condemned the attack as a ‘disgraceful act of vandalism to one of the UK’s and the world’s oldest and most important monuments.’
Video footage posted on social media showed two people wearing white shirts with Just Stop Oil on running up to the monoliths with canisters spraying paint
Members of the public were seen trying to prevent the protesters by dragging them away
Several stones were covered in the substance before the protesters stopped and sat cross legged on the grass
The Prime Minister continued: ‘Just Stop Oil should be ashamed of their activists, and they and anyone associated with them, including a certain Labour Party donor, should issue a condemnation of this shameful act immediately.’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said ‘Just Stop Oil are pathetic’ after activists from the group targeted Stonehenge.
In a tweet, he wrote: ‘The damage done to Stonehenge is outrageous. Just Stop oil are pathetic. Those responsible must face the full force of the law.’
Historian Tom Holland, who has previously hailed Stonehenge as one of Europe’s most precious prehistoric sites, also criticised the attack.
He wrote on X: ‘Parade your concern for the planet by destroying endangered lichens. Sympathy transmuted into utter loathing.’
Wiltshire Police said officers had attended the scene and arrested two people.
A spokesman added: ‘At around noon, we responded to a report that orange paint had been sprayed on some of the stones by two suspects.
‘Officers attended the scene and arrested two people on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument.
‘Our inquiries are ongoing, and we are working closely with English Heritage.’
