Katy Perry was blasted into space aboard the Blue Origin rocket. Photo / Blue Origin
Katy Perry was blasted into space aboard the Blue Origin rocket. Photo / Blue Origin
Six women, including Katy Perry and Lauren Sanchez, completed an 11-minute space flight with Blue Origin.
The mission aimed to inspire young women in science but faced criticism for its timing and environmental impact.
Critics questioned its purpose and highlighted resource concerns.
It was supposed to be a small step for (wo)man, a giant leap for feminism. But an all-star, all-female mission to space has come back down to Earth with a bit of a bump.
This week six women, including pop star Katy Perry and Jeff Bezos’ fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, were blasted more than 100km above Earth to the Karman line, the internationally recognised boundary of space, during an 11-minute flight.
The women were the first all-female space crew in more than 60 years, and their aim was to inspire young women to love science – while no doubt also promoting Bezos’ company Blue Origin, which plans to commercialise space travel for the wealthy.
Although Blue Origin has not released full ticket prices, a US$150,000 ($254,000) deposit is required just to reserve a seat.
From left, Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry, Aisha Bowe, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King and Amanda Nguyen were launched into space by Blue Origin on April 14. Photo / Blue Origin
Also on board the New Shepard rocket were former Nasa rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and CBS presenter Gayle King, who said a highlight was hearing Perry sing Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World.
Nguyen made history as the first Vietnamese woman to travel to space, and Bowe was the first person of Bahamian heritage to make such a mission.
“It’s an important moment for the future of commercial space travel and for humanity in general and for women all around,” said Perry.
But numerous people have criticised the timing of the all-star space flight, and poked fun at a video of the crew members experiencing zero gravity for the first time, where they shrieked and did somersaults. And it’s Perry, 40, who has come in for the most merciless mocking.
One of the most vocal critics has been model Emily Ratajkowski, who posted a video on TikTok calling the mission “end-of-times s***” and “beyond parody”.
Ratajkowski, who was made famous by Robin Thicke’s controversial Blurred Lines music video in 2013, seemed to attack Perry in particular.
Apparently referring to the singer’s statement that she had dedicated her participation to “Mother Earth”, Ratajkowski wrote: “You say you care about Mother Earth, and you’re going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that is single-handedly destroying the planet”.
“Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. And for what? I’m literally disgusted.”
Comedian Amy Schumer made a sarcastic video for Instagram where she joked: “Guys, last second they added me to space and I’m going to space”.
She then held up a Black Panther toy and said: “I’m bringing this thing. It has no meaning to me, but it was in my bag and I was on the subway, and I got the text and they were like, ‘Do you want to go to space?’ so I’m going to space.”
Actress and film director Olivia Wilde reposted one of many memes of Perry kissing the ground on her return to Earth. She captioned it: “Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess”.
The all-women space crew has come in for merciless mocking. Photo / Blue Origin
Companies’ social media accounts also joined the pile-on, with American fast-food chain Wendy’s commenting on a photo of Perry which had the caption, “Katy Perry has returned from space” with the words: “Can we send her back”. The pop star Kesha then posted a picture of herself holding a Wendy’s drink and smiling.
Earlier this month, the American actress Olivia Munn, who has appeared in X-Men: Apocalypse and The Newsroom, slammed the space stunt as “gluttonous”.
“I know this probably isn’t the cool thing to say, but there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now,” she said.
“I know this is probably obnoxious, but like, it’s so much money to go to space, and there’s a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs. What’s the point? Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride?
“Space exploration was to further our knowledge and to help mankind. What are they gonna do up there that has made it better for us down here? I don’t know if all that rocket fuel is good, this is a lot of resources being spent.”
Before they went into space, a picture released of the six crew members in their specially designed blue spacesuits drew angry comments online.
“Who is ready to watch a gaggle of dolled-up damsels, largely untethered from practical skill or sweat-earned expertise, lounge in the space pod sipping stardust, while the invisible hands of competent men labour endlessly to ensure everything works flawlessly, and that the ladies aren’t incinerated in a fiery catastrophe,” wrote one X user.
Space vs Trump’s spending cuts
Many people pointed out that it was galling that celebrities going into space for one short flight was generating more media coverage than both the cuts being made by the Trump Administration to Nasa’s budget and the scrapping of the organisation’s diversity initiatives.
Rhonda McMilllan, an artist, wrote on X: “Crazy how Katy Perry and Lauren Sanchez going to ‘space’ for 10 minutes is supposed to ‘inspire women’, but the women who already worked at Nasa are *checks notes* getting fired and getting their bios removed from the site”. Her tweet has been liked more than 108,000 times.
Critics have also pointed out that the mission was environmentally damaging, as rocket engine exhaust contains gases and particles that can affect Earth’s climate and ozone layer.
Perry has previously spoken out about the dangers of climate change, and in 2015 made a video for Unicef warning about the effects of extreme weather.
Although Blue Origin states on its website that “during flight, the only by-product of New Shepard’s engine combustion is water vapour with no carbon emissions”, scientists have pointed out that water vapour is a greenhouse gas that depletes the ozone layer.
Critics do not ‘understand’
In a press conference after the flight, crew members addressed the barrage of criticism that their mission had received.
“I feel that anybody who is criticising doesn’t really understand what’s happening here,” said King, who added that the astronauts had received a hugely positive response from young women and girls.
Earlier this month, King responded to claims that the mission was just a PR stunt for Bezos. As one critic pointed out on X: “Jeff Bezos couldn’t even pay Amazon workers fairly but he can send six rich women into space like it’s nothing”.
“Listen, it is troubling to me, too,” she told CBS.
“There have been some questions and decisions that he’s made that I’ve actually gone, ‘Huh?’ But I think in this particular case, this is so much bigger than one man and one company. I’ve chosen to separate the two.
“It’s not a zero-sum game. You can do this on one hand and this on the other hand, and both things can be true.”
Sanchez, 55, said she had got “fired up” about the criticism and wanted naysayers to “come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don’t just work here but put their heart and soul into this vehicle”.
Stars including Tom Hanks and Drew Barrymore made a send-off video for the six women to watch. And others, including Oprah Winfrey and several members of the Kardashian family, watched the launch from the ground in west Texas.
Khloe Kardashian said: “I didn’t realise how emotional it would be, it’s hard to explain. I have all this adrenalin and I’m just standing here. Whatever you dream of is in our reach, especially in today’s day and age. Dream big, wish for the stars – and one day, you could maybe be among them.”
On her return to Earth, Perry clutched a daisy that she had taken to space with her, in honour of her daughter Daisy Dove, who was also there to watch the launch.
“I feel super-connected to love,” said Perry. “This experience has shown me you never know how much love is inside of you, like how much love you have to give and how loved you are.”
Presumably she hadn’t had a chance to check her social media yet.
